General Geology of the

Mississippi Embayment
By E. M. GUSHING, E. H. BOSWELL, and R. L. HOSMAN

WATER RESOURCES OF THE MISSISSIPPI EMBAYMENT

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 448-B

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1964

 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
STEWART L. UDALL, Secretary

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
William T. Pecora, Director

First printing 1964

Second printing 1968

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office

Washington, D.C. 20402
 CONTENTS

Page Stratigraphy Continued Page

Abstract Bl Tertiary System Continued
Introduction.. __ 1 Paleocene Series Continued
Method of study 3 Midway Group Continued
Acknowledgments-__ ____. 4 Porters Creek Clay____ B14
Geology- 4 Wills Point Formation.. 15
Stratigraphy, _______ 5 Naheola Formation 15
Paleozoic rocks _ 5 Eocene Series._. .. 16
Cretaceous System 5 Wilcox Group. 16
Lower Cretaceous Series 5 NanafaUa Formation __ 16
Trinity Group _._ ____ 9 Tuscahoma Sand.. 16
Upper Cretaceous Series __ 9 Hatchetigbee Formation__ ___ 16
Tuscaloosa Group _ 10 Berger and Saline Formations and
Massive sand 10 Detonti Sand_.__. ... 17
Coker Formation.___._ _____ 10 Naborton Formation ___ 17
Gordo Formation.... _.__ 10 Dolet Hills Formation 17
Woodbine Formation 11 Claiborne Group 17
Eagle Ford Shale. ______________ 11 Tallahatta Formation_________ 17
McShan Formation._______ __._ 11 Carrizo Sand. 18
Eutaw Formation______________ 11 Mount Selman Formation ___________ 18
Tokio Formation._.____________ 11 Cane River Formation._____________ 18
Blossom Sand and Bonham Marl..__.__ 11 Winona Sand_____ _ 19
Selma Group _____ _______ 11 Zilpha Clay..._._ ___ _ 19
Mooreville Chalk_____________ 11 Sparta Sand 19
Coffee Sand_______________ 12 Cook Mountain Formation___ _ 20
Demopolis Chalk___________.___._ 12 Cockfield Formation._______ 21
Ripley Formation _ ...... 12 Jackson Group.__ _ .___ 21
Prairie Bluff Chalk and Owl Creek Moodys -Branch Formation... 21
Formation ____________ 12 Yazoo Clay____.___________ 21
Demopolis Formation...___..._____ 13 Oligocene Series._______________________ 21
Brownstown Marl... . _... 13 Miocene Series._________ 21
Ozan Formation___.___________ 13 Quaternary System. ... 21
Annona Chalk ______...____ 13
Marlbrook or Taylor Marl _____ 13 Structure . 21
Navarro Group ____ 13 Mesozoic Era____ _. 22
Saratoga Chalk___ _______ _____ 13 Triassic Period. _ _. 22
Nacatoch Sand._________________ 13 Jurassic Period.... 22
Arkadelphia Marl_______________ 13 Cretaceous Period- 23
Cenozoic Era. 23
Tertiary System ___ _ 14
Paleocene Series. _ 14 Tertiary Period 23
Midway Group__________________ 14 Quaternary Period. 23
Clayton Formation....-______ 14 Physiography.. . 23
Kincaid Formation____________ 14 Selected bibliography . 25
in
IV CONTENTS

ILLUSTRATIONS

[Plates are in pocket]

PLATE 1. Fence diagram showing geology of Mississippi embay ment.
2. Geologic sections of Mississippi embayment.
FIGURE 1. Map showing area of study.___________________________________________________________ B2
2. Mean annual temperature in the Mississippi embayment________________________________________ _ 3
3. Mean annual precipitation in the Mississippi embayment----_____________ _ ___ ________ 4
4-8. Contour maps showing configuration of:
4. Top of the Paleozoic rocks______________________________ _________ __ 8
5. Top of the Cretaceous System..______________________ _ _________ 9
6. Base of the sandy zone above the Porters Creek Clay._______________________ _ ____ _________ 15
7. Base of the Cane River Formation or its equivalents.______ _ _ ________ 19
8. Top of the Sparta Sand_________________________ __ _______________ 20
9. Structure map of the Mississippi embayment_____ 22
10. Physiographic map of the Mississippi embayment. ___ _ 24

TABLES
Page
TABLE 1. Stratigraphic columns____________________________________________________ B6
2. Oil tests and wells shown on fence diagram and geologic sections..-. _ _ 7
 WATER RESOURCES OF THE MISSISSIPPI EMBAYMENT
GENERAL GEOLOGY OF THE MISSISSIPPI EMBAYMENT
By E. M. GUSHING, E. H. BOSWELL, and R. L. HOSMAN
ABSTRACT
As the first phase in the study of the water resources of the
Mississippi embayment, the regional geologic structure and
stratigraphy are defined. The Mississippi embayment comprises
about 100,000 square miles in the Gulf Coastal Plain. It is a
wedge-shaped region extending from its apex in southern Illinois
southward to about the 32d parallel and includes parts of
Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi,
Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas.
Most of the major geologic units include water-bearing strata
that form vast aquifers, many of which cross State boundaries
and are of regional importance. The deep-lying Jurassic rocks
are not known to contain potable water, but the Cretaceous,
Tertiary, and Quaternary deposits include numerous aquifers,
most of which contain fresh water at shallow to moderate depths.
Geologically, the Mississippi embayment is a syncline which
plunges to the south and whose axis generally parallels the
Mississippi River. The syncline is filled with sedimentary rocks
ranging in age from Jurassic to Quaternary and reaching a
maximum thickness of about 18,000 feet in the southern part
of the region. The lithology and continuity of the geologic units
are variable because of modifying structural features and because
of the differing depositional environments during the geologic
evolution of the region. On the basis of interpretations of
electric logs and some drillers' logs, contour maps were prepared
showing configuration of the top of the Paleozoic rocks, the top
of the Cretaceous System, the base of the sandy zone above the
Porters Creek Clay, the base of the Cane River Formation or its
equivalents, and the top of the Sparta Sand. A fence diagram
and four sections show the stratigraphic relation of the major
geologic units, and for areas near the outcrops of these units the
sections are more detailed.
Important structural features in the embayment are the Sabine
and Monroe uplifts, the Jackson dome, the East Texas and Desha
basins, and the Arkansas and Pickens-Gilbertown fault zones.
These structures, all of post-Paleozoic age, were formed, in part,
contemporaneously with the sedimentation of the embayment
and have had considerable influence on the depositional environ-
ment of the region.
INTRODUCTION
For several years the need for an appraisal of the
water resources of the Mississippi embayment has been
recognized by people associated with the development
of the region. Most of the water-resources investiga-
tions in the embayment have been made in cooperation
with State, county, and municipal agencies and have
been restricted to local areas where the need for infor-
mation was most urgent. Reports on these studies give
valuable information on parts of the embayment, but
they do not treat the subject of water resources on a
regional basis.
The present study, begun in August 1957, is a part of
the Federal program of the U.S. Geological Survey.
The study is being made to provide an overall picture of
the water resources so that these resources can be
developed thoroughly and managed efficiently. This
report is one of a series that will describe the results of
the successive phases of the study.
Proper development, use, and conservation of the
water resources can be achieved only through an under-
standing of the regional geologic environment and its
influence on the response of the hydrologic system to
climate and to water-supply development. Within the
limits of time, personnel, and data available, the objec-
tives of the study are aimed toward: (a) defining the
regional geologic structure and stratigraphy and de-
termining their influence on the movement, availability,
and quality of the ground water; (b) determining areas
of ground-water recharge and discharge, the directions
and rates of flow between these areas, the influence of
these areas on the low-flow characteristics of the streams,
and the influence of artificial withdrawals on the ground-
water reservoirs; (c) determining the relation between*
the geology and the low-flow characteristics of streams,
the expected low flows of streams on a frequency basis,
and the storage requirements for maintaining certain
minimum flows; (d) studying the relation between
streams and ground-water reservoirs; (e) relating, by
study of chemical analyses, the chemical quality of the
water to its geographic and geologic environment; and
(f) determining the downdip extent of fresh water in the
formations and the presence of chloride, fluoride, nitrate,
and other chemical constituents which in excess concen-
trations could possibly restrict the usefulness of the
water.
The Mississippi embayment, as defined in this report,
comprises about 100,000 square miles in the Gulf
Coastal Plain. From its apex in southern Illinois, the
Bl
B2 WATER RESOURCES OF THE MISSISSIPPI EMBAYMENT
embayment fans out southward to about the 32d parallel
and includes parts of Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee,
and Texas. (See fig. 1.) Some of the larger cities
within the region are: Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Jackson, Miss.;
Monroe and Shreveport, La.; Texarkana, Ark.-Tex.;
Little Eock, Ark.; and Memphis, Tenn.
For some millions of years this region was an embay-
ment periodically occupied by an arm of the sea in
which as much as several thousand feet of sediments
were deposited. Deposits of sand now form vast
regional aquifers (water-bearing units), some of which
KANSAS
ARKANSAS
*"\ X \
Little Rock
FIGURE 1. Map showing area of study.
are known to produce large quantities of water. These
aquifers extend across State and topographic boundaries
and underlie various watersheds.
The embayment is drained by several large streams,
most of which belong to the Mississippi River system.
An area in the southeastern part of the region is drained
by tributaries of streams which flow separately into the
Gulf of Mexico.
The region has a moderate climate. The mean
annual temperature ranges from about 58 F in the
northern part of the region to 66 F in the southern part
(fig. 2), and the mean annual precipitation ranges
KENTUCKY
L~- L -
 GENERAL GEOLOGY OF THE MISSISSIPPI EMBAYMENT
33
32 L_
FiOTnut22. Mean'annual temperature, in degrees Fahrenheit, in the Mississippi embayment. (Data from records of U.S. Weather Bureau.)
generally from 48 inches in the northern part to 56
inches in the southern part (fig. 3). Although the
annual precipitation is high, most of it occurs during the
winter and spring; droughts are common during the
summer and fall.
The economy of the region is basically agricultural,
but industry has become increasingly important since
World War II. The diversification and mechanization
of agriculture have resulted in a surplus of manpower,
most of which is being absorbed by the expansion of
industry. The population, although still predominantly
rural, is becoming urban. Further industrial expansion
probably will occur because of available manpower,
natural resources, and economical transportation.
Increasing demands on available water supplies will
be made, and the future economy of the embayment is
largely dependent upon intelligent utilization and
management of the region's water resources.
One of the first phases of an areal water-resources
study is to define the generalized structure and stratig-
raphy so that more detailed subsurface studies and
B3
the correlation of the water-bearing units can be made.
This report summarizes the general geology of the
region.
METHOD OP STUDY
Description of the generalized regional structure and
stratigraphy is based primarily on the interpretation
of the available electric logs of wells and oil test holes.
In areas where electric logs are not available, attempts
were made to use available drillers' logs; generally,
however, these logs were not detailed enough for
accurate correlation with the electric logs. Most of
the geologic interpretation is based on previously estab-
lished and generally recognized unit boundaries. Some
microscopic and micropaleontologic examinations of
well cuttings were made to verify the interpretation of
the electric and drillers' logs.
On the basis of the interpretations, a fence diagram
showing the geology of the region, a structure map,
four regional geologic sections, and five contour maps
were prepared.
B4 WATER RESOURCES OF THE MISSISSIPPI EMBAYMENT
95" 94" 93"
35 "(
34
33
32
FIGURE 3. Mean annual precipitation, in inches, in the Mississippi embayment. (Compiled from maps of U.S. Weather Bureau and records of
Work on the ground-water phases of the study is
under the direction of E. M. Gushing. Fieldwork and
data synthesis and analysis to date (1960) were done
by J. G. Newton for Alabama, R. L. Hosman for
Arkansas, L. M. MacCary and T. W. Lambert for
Kentucky, W. H. Walker and C. E. Harris, Jr., for
Louisiana, E. H. Boswell for Mississippi, G. K. Moore
and J. H. Criner, Jr., for Tennessee, and E. T. Baker,
Jr., and William Ogilbee for Texas. Lithologic and
micropaleontologic studies are being made by S. M.
Herrick. Work on the surface-water phases is under the
direction of P. R. Speer, and that on the quality-of-
water phases is under the direction of M. E. Schroeder.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The suggestions, assistance, and cooperation of the
following State officials and members of their staffs
are gratefully appreciated: Walter B. Jones, State
Geologist, Geological Survey of Alabama; Norman F.
Williams, Geologist-Director, Arkansas Geological and
92" 91 90 89"
^l"--^
Tennessee Valley Authority.)
Conservation Commission; John C. Frye, Chief, Illinois
Geological Survey; Wallace W. Hagan, Director and
State Geologist, Kentucky Geological Survey; Arthur
C. McFarlan, Head of Geology Department, University
of Kentucky; Leo W. Hough, State Geologist, Louisiana
Geological Survey; Tracy W. Lusk, Director and State
Geologist, Mississippi Geological Survey; Thomas R.
Beveridge, Director and State Geologist, Missouri Geo-
logical Survey; William D. Hardeman, State Geologist,
Tennessee Division of Geology; and the late John T.
Lonsdale, former Director, Texas Bureau of Economic
Geology. These officials also furnished or made avail-
able geologic information and many electric logs and
sets of well cuttings for this study. Shell Oil Co.,
Jackson, Miss., allowed the authors access to the well
cuttings in its repository.
GEOLOGY
Within the Mississippi embayment, sediments rang-
ing in age from Jurassic to Quaternary have been
 GENERAL GEOLOGY OF THE MISSISSIPPI EMBAYMENT B5
deposited and have a maximum thickness of about Paleozoic age, ranging from Cambrian to Pennsylvanian.
18,000 feet in the southern part of the region. Units Although irregular, the slope of the Paleozoic surface
ranging in age from Cretaceous to Quaternary crop is generally toward the axis of the embayment in the
out within the area of study (pi. 1). These units of northern part of the region and changes gradually
gravel, sand, silt, clay, lignite, marl, chalk, and lime- toward the Gulf of Mexico on the southern flanks.
stone range in thickness from zero at the outcrop of Figure 4 is a contour map showing configuration of the
Paleozoic rocks to several thousand feet at the axis of top of the Paleozoic rocks.
the embayment structural trough. Within the embayment, near its periphery, water in
This report is concerned primarily with the strati- rocks of Paleozoic age is utilized.
graphic relationship and areal extent of the units of
CRETACEOUS SYSTEM
Late Cretaceous age and younger, and with the general
correlation of the units within the embayment. Table Deposits of Cretaceous age rest unconformably on
1 shows the stratigraphic columns used by the U.S. rocks of Paleozoic age throughout the embayment
Geological Survey (May 10, 1961) for the Upper Cre- except in the extreme southern part, where Lower
taceous, Paleocene, Eocene, and Oligocene units in the Cretaceous deposits overlie truncated Jurassic strata.
area of study. The Cretaceous sediments are mostly of marine origin
STRATIGRAPHY and are largely calcareous, ranging from sands to clays,
Available electric logs of wells and oil tests in the chalks, and marls. Some reef-type limestones are
embayment were used to define the generalized regional present locally.
stratigraphy. The geologic interpretations of the logs The dip of Cretaceous strata is generally toward
are based primarily on established and generally recog- the axis of the embayment except in the southern
nized unit boundaries. Some microscopic and micro- part of the region, where the dip gradually swings
paleontologic examinations of well cuttings were made southward toward the Gulf of Mexico. Structural
to verify these boundaries. features within the embayment affect the dip of Cre-
The geologic contacts shown on a regional fence taceous strata locally.
diagram (pi. 1) include the top of the Paleozoic rocks, Figure 5 is a contour map showing the configuration
the top of the Lower Cretaceous Series, the top of the of the top of the Cretaceous System.
Upper Cretaceous Series, the base of the sandy zone LOWER CRETACEOUS SERIES
immediately above the Porters Creek Clay, the top of The 34th parallel marks the approximate northern-
the Wilcox, the top of the Claiborne Group, and the most limit of Early Cretaceous deposition in the
top of the Jackson Group. The Oligocene and Miocene Mississippi embayment. Post-Early Cretaceous ero-
Series are shown as a unit, as is the Quaternary System. sion during the rise of the Monroe uplift completely
Plate 2 is a group of regional geologic sections. removed the Lower Cretaceous rocks in southeastern
These sections show the correlation of the groups or Arkansas and part of northeastern Louisiana; Lower
larger units in the embayment and the stratigraphic Cretaceous beds are truncated around the southern
position of most of the formational units near their flank of the uplift.
areas of outcrop. In the extreme northern part of the Lower Cretaceous rocks do not crop out on the
embayment, Eocene deposits have not been subdivided. eastern side of the embayment. However, in Mis-
Facies changes in the units in this interval and the lack sissippi and Alabama they occur in the subsurface as
of subsurface information have prevented the tracing thick sands, clays, and shales. Lower Cretaceous beds
of the recognized unit boundaries from the southern
crop out in a westward-trending band in southwestern
part of the region into the northern part. Fossils,
which would be useful in the attempt to subdivide Arkansas and southeastern Oklahoma, and extend down-
these Eocene units, apparently do not exist in the dip into Louisiana and Texas. These beds have been
northern part of the embayment. designated the Trinity Group, which comprises
Wells shown on the fence diagram and on the sections several formations.
are listed in table 2. The well numbers are those used Southwestern Arkansas is the only area in the Mis-
in each State by the district office of the Branch of sissippi embayment where fresh ground water is obtained
Ground Water of the U.S. Geological Survey. from wells drilled into these rocks. Analysis of electric
logs indicates that the Lower Cretaceous deposits may
PALEOZOIC BOCKS
contain fresh water in a small area in east-central
Although igneous intrusive rocks occur in some Mississippi and western Alabama but that elsewhere in
places, the basement rocks that form the synclinal Mississippi and in Alabama the water is probably too
structure of the Mississippi embayment are mostly of mineralized for most uses.
298-803 O - i
 w
Oi

TABLE 1. Stratigraphic columns

Northeastern Texas Northern Louisiana- Missouri Tennessee Continued Northern Mississippi Central Mississippi Central Mississippi- Western Alabama-
Con t nued Continued Continued
[Bowie, Cass, Marion, Eocene Series Upper Cretaceous Series [Southern part] Oligocene Series
and Harrlson Counties] Eocene and Paleocene Wilcox Formation Owl Creek Formation Forest Hill Sand and Paleocene Series Paleocene Series
Series Paleocene Series Ripley Formation Eocene Series Red Bluff Clay Midway Group Midway Group
Eocene Series Wilcox Group Midway Group McNairy Sand Jackson Group, undif- Eocene Series Naheola Formation Naheola Formation
Clalborne Group Dolet Hills Forma- Porters Creek Clay Member ferentiated Jackson Group Porters Creek Clay Coal Bluff Marl
Sparta Sand tion Clayton Formation Coon Creek Tongue Claiborne Group Yazoo Clay Matthews Land- Member
Mount Selinan For- Naborton Forma- Upper Cretaceous Series Demopolis Formation Cockfleld Forma- Shubuta Member ing Marl Mem- Oak Hill Member
mation tion Owl Creek Formation Coffee Sand tion Pachuta Marl ber Porters Creek For-
Weches Green- Paleocene Series McNairy Sand Eutaw Formation Cook Mountain Member Clayton Formation mation s
sand Member Midway Group Tuscaloosa Formation Formation Cocoa Sand Mem- Upper Cretaceous Series Matthews Land- f>
Queen City Sand Porters Creek Clay Illinois Sparta Sand ber Selma Group Ing Marl Mem- 1-3
Member Clayton Formation Northern Mississippi Zilpha Clay North Creek Prairie Bluff Chalk ber H
Reklaw Member Upper Cretaceous Series Eocene Series Winona Sand Member Ripley Formation Clayton Formation to
Carrizo Sand Arkadelphia Marl Wilcox Group, undif- [Northern part] Tallahatta Forma- Moodys Branch Demopolis Chalk McBryde Lime-
Wilcox Formation Nacatoch Sand ferentiated tion Formation Bluffport Marl stone Member W
Palepcene Series Saratoga Clay Paleocene Series Eocene Series Wilcox Formation Claiborne Group Member Pine Barren
Midway Group Marlbrook Marl Midway Group Jackson Group, undif- Paleocene Series Cockfleld Forma- Mooreville Chalk Member co
Wills Point Forma- Annona Chalk Porters Creek Clay ferentiated Midway Group tion Arcola Limestone Upper Cretaceous Series O
tion Brownstown Marl Clayton Formation Claiborne Group Naheola Formation Cook Mountain Member Selma Group d
Kincaid Formation Tokio Formation Upper Cretaceous Series Cockfleld Forma- Porters Creek Clay Formation Eutaw Formation Prairie Bluff Chalk S
Upper Cretaceous Series
Nayarro Group, un-
Eagle Ford Shale
Woodbine Formation
McNairy Sand tion
Cook Mountain
Clayton Formation
Upper Cretaceous Series
Gordon Creek McShan Formation Ripley Formation o
Shale Member Tuscaloosa Group Demopolis Chalk 00
diflerentiated Kentucky Formation Selma Group Potterchitto Sand Gordo Formation Bluffport Marl
Taylor Marl Arkansas Sparta Sand Prairie Bluff Chalk Member Coker Formation Member o
Annona Chalk Eocene Series Zilpha Clay Ripley Formation Archusa Marl Massive sand Mooreville Chalk
Brownstown Marl Eocene Series Claiborne Group, un- Winona Sand Demopolis Chalk Member Arcola Limestone
Blossom Sand Jackson Group, un- differentiated Tallahatta Forma- Bluffport Marl Sparta Sand Western Alabama Member 1-3
Bonham Marl differentiated Wilcox Group, undif- tion Member Zilpha Clay Eutaw Formation M
Eagle Ford Shale Claiborne Group ferentiated Holly Springs Mooreville Chalk Winona Sand Eocene Series Tombigbee Sand B
Woodbine Formation Cockfleld Forma- Paleocene Series Sand Member Arcola Limestone Tallahatta Forma- Claiborne Group Member
tion Midway Group Wilcox Formation Member tion Tallahatta Forma- McShan Formation
Northern Louisiana Cook Mountain Porters Creek Clay Paleocene Series Eutaw Formation Neshoba Sand tion Tuscaloosa Group
Formation Clayton (?) Forma- Midway Group Tombigbee Sand Member Meridian Sand Gordo Formation co
[North of 32d parallel] Sparta Sand tion Porters Creek Clay Member Basic City Shale Member Coker Formation co
Cane River Forma- Upper Cretaceous Series Tippah Sand Len- McShan Formation Member Wilcox Group Upper unnamed co
Oligocene Series tion McNairy Sand til Tuscaloosa Group, Meridian Sand Hatchetigbee For- member co
Vicksburg Formation Carrizo Sand Tuscaloosa Formation Clayton Formation undifferentiated Member mation Eoline Member tj
Eocene Series Wilcox Group, undif- Upper Cretaceous Series Wilcox Formation Bashi Marl Mem- Massive sand 2
Jackson Group ferentiated' Tennessee Selma Group Bashl Marl Member ber M
Yazoo Clay Paleocene Series Owl Creek Forma- Fearn Springs Tuscahoma Sand
Moodys Branch Midway Group, un- Eocene Series tion Member Bells Landing ra
Formation diflerentiated * Jackson (?) Formation Ripley Formation Marl Member tef
Claiborne Group Upper Cretaceous Series Claiborne Group, un- Chiwapa Member Oreggs Landing IX)
Cockfleld Forma- Arkadelphia Marl differentiated McNairy Sand Marl Member
tion Nacatoch Sand Wilcox Group, undif- Member Nanafalia Forma- KJ
Cook Mountain Saratoga Chalk ferentiated Cook Creek tion fe
Formation
Sparta Sand
Marlbrook Marl
Annona Chalk
Paleocene Series Tongue Oramplan Hills sl_l
Midway Group Transitional clay Member
Cane River Forma- Ozan Formation Porters Creek Clay Demopolis Chalk Middle member 2
tion Brownstown Marl Clayton Formation Coffee Sand Gravel Creek
Carrizo Sand Tokio Formation Eutaw Formation Sand Member
Woodbine Formation Tombigbee Sand
Member
McShan Formation
Tuscaloosa Group,
undifferentiated

i Wilcox Group (Eocene Series), undifferentiated. Wilcox Group (Paleocene Series), upper part undiflerentiated; Dolet Hills and Naborton Formations lower two units.
in ascending order, \\ ilcox Group Arkansas in bauxite area comprises Berger Formation, Saline Formation, and Detonti Sand
'In ascending order, Midway Group in Arkansas bauxite area comprises Kincaid Formation and Wills Point Formation.
 GENERAL GEOLOGY OF THE MISSISSIPPI EMBAYMENT B7
TABLE 2. Oil teats and wells shown on fence diagram and geologic sections
County or Well Company or driller Well name County or Well Company or driller Well name
parish parish

Alabama LDuisiana Continued

1-51 .......... 25.. ____ ... Justiss-Mears Oil Co ...... Evans 2.

8-23 Blair Oil & Gas Co.... ... Do... ..... 26 ............. E. M. Clark 1.
FF-35 ........ U.S. Geol. Survey test Ouachlta _ 21 ............. Walter Maxey 1.
well 27. __ . __ . Atlantic Refining Co... ...
Do.... 88-24. ........ ....do...... ___ ......... Do. linl.
Union ........ 19 ______ .. H. J. Heartwell.. .. ... GriflBn 1.
Do.... .... u *...._..
11 ............. Kilpatrick 1.
Do . .... 12 __ . Hunt Oil Co .............. Jacinta Sales 1.
West Carroll.. 28... __ . Pure Oil Co _____ . ... CosteUo 1.
Ashley - 58. ____ ....
Perry trust).
Arkansas. .. 75 ............. Mississippi
Do ....... 76 ...... .... E. P. Fox 1.
Clark... ...... 84.. _____ .. J. F. Stone- ........... Kunnicutt 1.
Clay. ..... 17__ . ........ Gallatin Drilling Co __ Attala ........ 6. ............. Shell Oil Co... ___ ...... H. H. Wheeless 1.
16..... ........ TATI n orlr TTI t* Ruby Martin 1 Do.... .... 13 ............ Dudley S. Weaver et al.. M. C. Rutherford 1.
69............. 3 ..............
6........ ...... H. M. Mills _____ ..... Do .. 6 ______ ...
Calhoun. . . 3.............. Honolulu Oil Co. ........ D. R. Davis2.
3. _______ . Carter Oil Co. ___ . .... Do........ 5. ___ . _ ... Seaboard Oil Co .......... J. L. Williams 1.
Do ...... 63.. _ . ....... 2.............. Sinclair Oil Co............ Epperson 1.
2 .............. 2. .......... Henson & Rife Co.... .... W.J.&T.W. Green 1.
Do.. ..... 10............. Clay. ........ 6.............. Atlantic Refining Co...... R. G. Dunning 1.
36.. __ . ..... 1 .............. Union Producing Co...... Withers Estate 1.
1 .............. B. H. Williams & H. H. Connecticut General
Do ..... 37............. Womble. Life Insurance Co. 1.
Do........ 12 ............ Fred Mellen _ .......... Mrs. A. G. Williams 1.
6. __ . ....... 4. ___ . ___ . Jackson Ready-Mix-
54. ____ . _ . Bell-Anding 1.
Little River 20........ ..... Do- 38 ............ Kingwood Oil Co. & E. L. Gray 1.
Do . .... 38.......... ... Kemp Drilling Co.
Do....... 98 . Dierks 1. Do 48 ..... ....... Plains Production Co ..... J. S. Taylor 1.
10 ............. Do.. .. 67 ............ Premier Oil Refining Co.. Landstreet-Lipbam 1.
Do.. 98 ............. Do ..... 1206 ...... .... Leonard Jones ............ La Rue 1.
to to 1 Do- 1231 _____ . Blind Institute 1.
Miller.. ......1 .............. Nichols 1. 7.............. J. E. Treadway & D. C. Unger-Darnell 1.
Do- 39 ............. McClouth 1. Latimer.
Do.. ..... 40. ............ Do 14 ______ . A. H. Rowan. ___ .. .... J. W. Eakin 1.
Do--..... 41 ............. Estabrook, HiU & Crider.. Do.. . 20 ............ Sohio-Fleishman .. ... J. Garland 1.
43............. M W^ Jones 1 Do .... 22 ______ . Marshall R. Young et al.. Board of Supervisors 1.
3 .............. R. E. Smith .............. 43 Ray Northern & A. W. Fleming 1.
Do _ . ... 11 _______ Williams Drilling Co.
Do.. 7Q
B. E. Smith. _____ ... 6 _ Kentucky Lumber Co.
Do- . 74 _______ 1.
101. ... Peters Drilling Co. .... "WooHS F&rrns 1 14....... ...... Rogers Lacy.. __ ... J. J. Shelburne 1.
11 ............ G. R. Shankle 1. Do.. .... 15 .......... Wanete Oil Co ............ Beadles & Fredricks 1.
Do ... 67 ............ 1 ... ........ Harold K. Boysen ........ Denkman Lumber Co.
St. Francis 102 ............ 1.
61 ............ Lee........... 5___ . ___ . J. F. Michael..... Temple-Harmon unit
Do... ..... 97 ............ Loftinl. 1.
Do........ 105............ Do __ ... 6 .... R. A. Ellison . W. H. Neely 1.
White 79 States Oil Co.... .......... Leflore.. ... 4... ...... .. Exchange Oil Co . Wildwood Plantation
2.............. Sol Nathan 1. 1.
Do.. 9 .

Kentucky Do.... 78..... . Ray, Shortridge & Wilson J. J. Ross 1.

Drilling Co.
Shell Oil Co.... ___ .....
1 _ ..... H. H. Hamilton. __ ...... Kirkland 1.
Galloway.. ... S1229.1-120.4.. South Central Petroleum Pearl Tones Cherry 1. Do.. . - 2 _ ..... _ ...
Co. Newton.. ..... 6 ..... Sun Oil Co................ Hilma Wall 1.
Carlisle.... ... dnoo A ortft Q Sterett Drilling Co. .... T. J. Wilson 1. Noxubee. 8. ..
Fulton.. ...... S946.1-92.3 Mt. Carmel Drilling Co- Florence Smith 1.
sion Co.
Prentiss ....... Fll.. ..... . Carloss Well Supply Co ... City of Booneville
Louisiana water well.
Do... J22 .. Layne-Central Co_ . .... City of Baldwyn
water well.
Bienvllle...... 18 Monsanto Chemical Co .. Ozley 1. 11 _ .......... Monsanto Chemical Co ... Leon 1.
9. __ ... ..... 31....... ......
Do ..... 10 ......... 10 .. A. Y. Keith 1.
4 .. Union Producing Co.. _ . Gaylord Container
1 __ . ........ Arkla Oil Co. ............ Mattie Pitts 3.
Do... ..... 2___ . ........ Bell 2. 2 ,.... J. R. Cooper 1.
Do ..... 3.............. J. W. Fair.. ...... ........ send.
Do ..... 4 . . _ . Fly 2. Do... 4. .. Latex-Gulf Oil Co _ . J. R. Dockery 1.
Do 9 ......... Ohio Oil Co. . .
Do........ 5... ........... 6 ... .... .. Louisiana-Mississippi Oil C. E. Shores 1.
Do - 6.............. Bell A-l. Co.
Co. Do....
10 Marshall R. Young .... Ogilvle 1.
Do ..... 7. ............. W. C. Agurs 2. Do- 11 . ....... Lewis & La Rue.. ___ .. L. Westbrook 1.
Do- ... 8.............. Do. 12............. Gulf Refining Co _ ....... T. P. Cason et al. 1.
13. ____ .... Do...
13. Marshall R. Young. __ .. H. P. Tatiim 1.
Do... ..... 14 ............. R. F. Odom 1. 2- _ .. _ .... Texas Co.... _ . __ ...... A. B. Hintson 1.
Do ..... 15. ............ Do- 27. __ ........ Magnolia Petroleum Co... Martin Estate 1
Do........ 16............. Ilemphill 1. Do 43 Frontier Oil Refining F. C. Martin 1.
ing Co. Corp.
Do ..... 17 ............. 5 ... . Chancellor 1.
31............. 8...... . . Steward Oil Co. et al... ... Ruth Creekmore 1.
Madison _ . 29... .......... V. S. Parham ............. Katlian-Johnson 1. Yazoo. . .... 1 __ .. __ . ... Northern Ordnance Co .... Koppers Co. 1.
Do........ 30...... ....... Curtis Kinard _______ Soudhelmer 1. Do- 27 ...
22 ............. Bank 1.
Do ..... 23... ..... Barnsdall Oil Co. & C. N. Po 49. _ ......... C. S. Stoner 1.
Valerious. Do... .- 71.. .... J. W. Sorrels.... _ ....... Ledbctter 1.
Do........ 24.... __ .... The Texas Co.. .......... W. W. Doles 1.
B8 WATER RESOURCES OF THE MISSISSIPPI EMBATMENT

TABLE 2. Oil tests and wells shown on fence diagram and geologic sections Continued
County or Well Company or driller Well name County or Well Company or driller Well name
parish parish

Missouri Tennessee Continued

6614 ........... Shelby... ..... Sh:L-5..._ .

New Madrid, 6809........... E. Phillips 1. Do Sh:O-169.--_. Memphis Light, Gas & Memphis Light, Gas &
Do........ 8882. _____ . U.S. Bureau of Mines ..... R. B. Oliver, Jr. 1. Water Div. Water Div. 25.
Pemiscot ...... 7222........... Do. Sh:U-12...... Lion Oil & Refining Co ...
Stoddard. ... 8573 __ . ... M. H. Marr . . ....... W. J. Crutcher 1.
Do........ 9205.. ......... Rehms 1.
Texas

BD-1620701... J. K. Wadley.. .... R. C. Vollmer 1.

Dyer.. ........ Dy:G-l_ Henderson Oil Co.. ....... Field 1. Do ..... BD-1644102 Permac Oil & Gas Co., Tidwell 1.
Fayette ..... Fa:J-l_ Lazarov & Bobilio Oil Co Beasley 1. Inc.
Hardeman .... Hr:G-32 ... W. Atkeison Well Supply DB-1659302... Atlas Oil & Refining Co Laura Thomas 1.
Co. Do........ DB-1664404... Arkla Oil Co.... ..........
Henderson .... He:K-3 ...... Do.. . DB-3503302 Humble Oil & Refining Co. E. Turner 1.
Lake Lk:E-17.. Do
Benz. Co. 1.
Lauderdale ... Ld:O-4.._ . T. A. Lee. 1. Do........ DB-3506303... Mrs. Sloan Taylor 1.
Mn:H-l.__. ... Petrie 1. LK-3520503... D. E. & R. T. Whelan... .
Madison ...... Md:M-l.. .... Do... __ . LK-3536204... C. A. Bell 1.
T-2-M. nedy.
Do ..... Md:N-l.__ .. do... ...... ....... U.S. Qeol. Survey SX-3512102.... S. L. Orr 1.
T-l-M.

95" 94

\ ILLINOIS
EXPLANATION

37'
Contour interval 200 feet
Datum is mean sea level
Compiled from data submitted by
J. G. Newton for Alabama; R. L.
Hosman for Arkansas; T. W.
Lambert for Kentucky; E. H.
Boswell for Mississippi and G. K. , i
Moore for Tennessee r _J._._

-T ARKANSAS

33 j, i jVr"!

32

FIGURE 4. Contour map showing configuration of the top of tho Paleozoic rocks.
 GENERAL GEOLOGY OP THE MISSISSIPPI EMBAYMENT
95 94" 93
EXPLANATION
0 50
37
Contour interval 200 feet
Datum is mean sea level
Compiled from data submitted by
J. G. Newton for Alabama; R. L.
Hosman for Arkansas; T. W.
36
Lambert 'for Kentucky; C. E.
Harris, Jr., and W. H. Walker for
Louisiana; E. H. Boswell for Missis-
sippi; G. K. Moore for Tennessee
and E. T. Baker, Jr., for Texas
35
34
33
32
FIGURE 5. Contour map showing configuration of the top of the Cretaceous System.
Two other formations of Early Cretaceous age, the
Goodland Limestone (Hill, 1891, p. 504, 514) and the
Kiamichi Formation (Hill, 1891, p. 504, 515) overlie
the Trinity Group and have a combined maximum
thickness of about 70 feet. As these two units crop
out in only a very small area in Arkansas near the
Oklahoma State line, occur in the subsurface only in
northeastern Texas and a small area in southwestern
Arkansas, and are not a source of ground water, they
are not treated further in this report.
Trinity Uroup
The Trinity Group (Hill, 1888, p. 188) in Arkansas
consists in ascending order, of the Pike Gravel (Miser
and Purdue, 1918a, p. 20), the Delight Sand (Imlay,
1944), the Dierks Limestone (Miser and Purdue, 1918a,
p. 21), the Holly Creek Formation (Vanderpool, 1928,
p. 1079-1080) including the Ultima Thule Gravel
Member (Miser and Purdue, 1918a, p. 21), the De
Queen Limestone (Miser and Purdue, 1918a, p. 22),
and the Paluxy Sand (Hill, 1891, p. 504). This differ-
entiation applies only in the immediate vicinity of the
B9
92 91 90 89 88 87"
\ ILLINOIS JL<-' ^
,^-^-U^-/^/ \ A
100 MILES
outcrop. The thickness of the group in outcrop is
about 1,500 feet, and it may exceed 2,500 feet in the
subsurface.
The Paluxy Sand is the most important water-bearing
unit in the Trinity Group. The Pike Gravel and the
Ultima Thule Gravel Member of the Holly Creek
Formation yield moderate quantities of fresh water to
wells in and near their outcrops.
UPPER CRETACEOUS SERIES
The entire Mississippi embayment was inundated by
the Late Cretaceous sea to a point at least 20 miles
north of Cairo, 111. Before the sea retreated at the end
of the Cretaceous Period, hundreds of feet of sediment
were deposited in the embayment. The Upper Creta-
ceous strata are thickest along the axis and in the
southern part of the embayment. They thin eastward
and westward toward the flanks and northward toward
the apex of the trough. These rocks consist predomi-
nantly of sand, clay, marl, and chalk that are mostly
of marine origin. Generally, aquifers of the Upper
Cretaceous contain fresh water in and near their
BIO WATER RESOURCES OF THE MISSISSIPPI EMBAYMENT
outcrops, and the degree of mineralization in the water
increases downdip.
The Upper Cretaceous beds crop out in a wide band
along the entire eastern flank of the embayment, in the
northeast corner of Texas, and in the southwest corner
of Arkansas. A small outcrop occurs along the Fall
Line in northeastern Arkansas, but elsewhere along the
western flank the Upper Cretaceous rocks are overlapped
by younger sediments.
Tuscaloosa Group
The basal Upper Cretaceous beds on the eastern side
of the embayment originally were assigned to the Tuscaloosa
Formation (Smith and Johnson, 1887, p. 18). These
beds in Alabama and Mississippi now constitute the
Tuscaloosa Group (originally defined by Monroe and
others, 1946, p. 191; redefined by Drennen, 1953a, p.
528), which includes the Coker and Gordo Formations.
In the subsurface of central Mississippi and western
Alabama, a basal unit known as the massive sand is
also included in the group.
In Tennessee and Kentucky the basal Cretaceous
beds, lithologically similar to those of the Tuscaloosa
Group, remain assigned to the Tuscaloosa Formation.
These beds may be as much as 180 feet thick (MacCary,
1960, written communication) and consist of well-
rounded pebbles ranging in size from 1 inch to 6 inches.
They also contain varying amounts of sand and clay.
A hard conglomerate is present in places where the
pebbles, mostly chert, are cemented with iron oxide.
The Tuscaloosa Formation, largely removed by erosion,
is of deltaic origin. Although the formation is not
extensive, it does yield moderate amounts of water to
wells in and near its outcrop.
Massive sand. The term "massive sand*," was first
used by McGlothlin (1944). The sand was correlated
with the Cottondale Formation (of former usage) by
Monroe, Conant, and Eargle (1946, p. 210-211) and by
Eargle in later work (1946, 1948). When Drennen
(1953a) reclassified the Tuscaloosa Group, he abandoned
the term "Cottondale Formation," formerly applied to
the basal unit of the group, because the deposits
assigned to this unit were included in the redefined
Coker Formation. Drennen (1953, p. 530) describes
the Coker Formation as being "correlative with that
part of the lower Tuscaloosa above the massive sand."
Although the term "Cottondale Formation" was
abandoned, the informal term "massive sand" is still
used for the basal sand unit of the Tuscaloosa Group in
western Alabama and central Mississippi.
Drennen (1953a, table 2) tentatively correlates the
massive sand with the Vick Formation (Conant, 1946),
which crops out only in Bibb County, Ala. The Vick
Formation, however is Early (?) Cretaceous (Monroe,
1955, p. 13), whereas the massive sand is probably
Late Cretaceous. Until the massive sand is shown to
be the subsurface equivalent of the Vick Formation or
a suitable geographic name is designated, the informal
name "massive sand" is applied to the unit. Whether
this unit is of formational rank, is a basal member of
the Coker Formation, or is a part of the Eoline Member
of the Coker Formation remains to be determined.
The massive sand is "a series of medium- to coarse-
grained sands * * * " (according to McGlothlin, 1944,
p. 40). Interbedded shale and clay occur in the thick
beds of coarse sand, chert, and quartz gravel which
compose the main body of the unit. The thickness of
the massive sand ranges from zero at its northern
limit, slightly south of the 34th parallel, to a possible
maximum of 500 feet in the southern part of the region.
The massive sand overlies beds of Early Cretaceous age
in central Mississippi and western Alabama, and north-
ward it overlies Paleozoic rocks. Although the massive
sand is not generally used as a source of ground water,
it is potentially one of the most important aquifers in
the embayment.
Coker Formation. The Coker Formation (originally
defined by Monroe and others, 1946, p. 197-200;
redefined by Drennen, 1953a, p. 532-536) ranges in
thickness from a few feet to about 400 feet (excluding
the massive sand) in the subsurface in Alabama and
central Mississippi. In Alabama, the Coker has been
subdivided into the Eoline Member and an upper
unnamed member.
The Eoline Member (Monroe and others, 1946,
p. 194-197) consists of thin-bedded clay, sandy
clay, shale, and sand, mostly of marine origin; sub-
ordinate beds of sand occur throughout the unit. The
overlying unnamed member is composed of multicolored
clay and shale containing subordinate sand beds. The
Coker Formation lies upon the massive sand and upon
Paleozoic rocks where the massive sand is absent.
Although the Coker Formation is not extensively
used for ground-water supplies, it seems to be a potential
source in many areas in Alabama and Mississippi.
Gordo Formation. The Gordo Formation (Monroe
and others, 1946, p. 200-204) generally ranges in thick-
ness from 100 to 400 feet in the subsurface. It is
composed of thick beds of sand containing gravel in the
lower part and multicolored clay and shale interbcdded
with sand in the upper part. It is absent in the sub-
surface in northwestern Mississippi. The basal gravel
of the Gordo Formation rests unconformably on the
clays of the upper unnamed unit of the Coker
Formation.
The Gordo Formation is an important aquifer in
Alabama and Mississippi.
 GENERAL GEOLOGY OF THE MISSISSIPPI EMBAYMENT
Woodbine Formation
The Woodbine Formation (Hill, 1901, p. 293) is the
basal unit of the Upper Cretaceous Series hi north-
eastern Texas, northern Louisiana, and southern
Arkansas and lies unconformably upon Lower Cre-
taceous rocks. It has been correlated with the Tusca-
loosa Group on the eastern side of the region. The
formation reaches a maximum thickness of about 350
feet hi the subsurface and consists of sand, clay, gravel,
and some reworked volcanic material. The only out-
crop in the area of study is hi southwestern Arkansas.
The Woodbine yields small quantities of water to
domestic wells in and near its outcrop.
Eagle Ford Shale
The Eagle Ford Shale (Hill, 1887, p. 298) overlies
the Woodbine Formation hi Louisiana and Texas but
does not crop out in the embayment. It consists of
several hundred feet of dark-colored shale, sandy shale,
and subordinate beds of sand. The formation is not
present on the Sabine uplift, where it has been removed
by erosion. The Eagle Ford Shale does not yield water
to wells in the embayment.
M cSnan Formation
The McShan Formation (Monroe and others, 1946,
p. 204-207), probably equivalent to the Eagle Ford
Shale, crops out in Alabama and Mississippi, where it
reaches a thickness of 200 feet or more hi the subsur-
face. It consists of laminated micaceous glauconitic
gray clay, fine sand, and lenticular beds of fine to
medium glauconitic sand. The formation is overlapped
by the Eutaw Formation hi northern Mississippi and
is absent farther north.
In subsurface mapping the McShan is generally in-
cluded in the lower part of the Eutaw Formation.
The McShan is an important aquifer in eastern
Mississippi and western Alabama.
Eutaw Formation
In the subsurface in Tennessee, Mississippi, and
Alabama the Eutaw Formation (Hilgard, 1860, p. 61)
ranges in thickness from zero to more than 400 feet.
The main body of the formation is composed of gray
clay interbedded with fine glauconitic sand. Thin
beds of fine to medium glauconitic sand are common
and are fairly persistent near the base of the formation,
which is normally marked by a thin bed of fine gravel.
The sands are commonly crossbedded or show distinct
stratification. A persistent sand at the top of the
formation, known as the Tombigbee Sand Member
(Hilgard, 1860, p. 61), is massive, highly glauconitic,
calcareous, and fossiliferous in the upper part. The
Eutaw Formation overlies the McShan Formation in
Alabama and Mississippi, where the contact generally
can be recognized on the outcrop. In the subsurface,
however, the two units are generally mapped together
Bll
as the Eutaw Formation. The Eutaw Formation is
an important aquifer hi eastern Mississippi and western
Alabama.
Toklo Formation
The Tokio Formation (originally defined by Miser
and Purdue, 1918a, p. 19, 24; restricted by Dane, 1926)
in Arkansas and northern Louisiana ranges hi thickness
from 50 to more than 300 feet in the subsurface and is
probably equivalent to the Eutaw Formation. The
Tokio is composed mainly of poorly sorted crossbedded
yellow and white sands, gray sandy clay, and a basal
bed of novaculite gravel. Gravel lenses are scattered
throughout the formation, and the gray clay contains
varying amounts of lignite. The Tokio Formation
unconformably overlies the Woodbine Formation in
the outcrop area in southwestern Arkansas. It supplies
moderate quantities of water to numerous wells in and
near its outcrop.
Blossom Sand and Bonnam Marl
The Blossom Sand (Gordon, 1909, p. 371, 373) and
Bonham Marl (Stephenson, 1927, p. 8) in northeastern
Texas are equivalent to the Tokio Formation in
Arkansas (Dane, 1929, p. 42^3, 81) and Louisiana
and to the Eutaw Formation in Alabama, Mississippi,
and Tennessee. Only the Blossom Sand is hydrolog-
ically important. The Blossom has a maximum
thickness of about 350 feet in the subsurface. It
consists of interbedded sand and clay and is predonji-
nantly clayan areas where it is thickest. Its usefulness
as an aquifer is restricted to the vicinity of the outcrop.
Selma Group
In Alabama and Mississippi the Selma Group
(Smith, Johnson, and Langdon, 1894, p. 15) includes the
Upper Cretaceous formations between the top of the
Eutaw Formation and the base of the Midway Group.
These formations in western Alabama and eastern
Mississippi, in ascending order, are the Mooreville
Chalk, the Demopolis Chalk, the Kipley Formation,
and the Prairie Bluff Chalk. In the northern part of
Mississippi the Selma Group, hi ascending order,
includes the Coffee Sand, the Demopolis Chalk, the
Kipley Formation, and the Owl Creek Formation.
The formations of the Selma Group are equivalent
to those in Arkansas, northern Louisiana, and north-
eastern Texas which are between the top of the Tokio
Formation or the Blossom Sand and the base of the
Midway Group.
Mooreville Chalk, The Mooreville Chalk (Stephen-
son, 1917, p. 246), including the Arcola Limestone
Member (Stephenson and Monroe, 1938, p. 1655-1657)
at the top, has a maximum thickness of more than 250
feet hi central and southern Mississippi and western
Alabama. It is an impure chalk or chalky marl con-
taining scattered thin beds of very fine sand. Some
B12 WATER RESOURCES OF THE MISSISSIPPI EMBAYMENT
sandy zones are extremely glauconitic, especially those
in the upper part of the formation. The Arcola Lime-
stone Member is a moderately hard limestone, com-
monly penetrated by marine borings.
The Mooreville Chalk is equivalent to the Browns-
town Marl of Arkansas, northern Louisiana, and north-
eastern Texas. In northern Mississippi the Moore-
ville grades into sand and becomes the lower part of
the Coffee Sand. The Mooreville Chalk is not an
aquifer.
Coffee Sand. The Coffee Sand (Safford, 1864, p.
361) in Tennessee and northern Mississippi is a facies
equivalent of the Mooreville Chalk and the lower part
of the Demopolis Chalk. Near its outcrop the Coffee
Sand may be as much as 200 feet thick. It is made up
largely of a series of stratified and crossbedded sands
and clays. The sands are generally fine and vari-
colored; in many places they contain an abundance of
mica and in some places glauconite and pyrite. The
clays are highly carbonaceous and contain an abundance
of plant remains. The Coffee Sand is an important
aquifer.
Demopolis Chalk. The Demopolis Chalk (Smith,
1888), including the Bluffport Marl Member (Monroe,
1956, p. 2740-2742) at the top, is about 500 feet thick
in central Mississippi and western Alabama. The
Bluffport Marl Member has a maximum thickness of
about 50 feet.
The Demopolis Chalk in Mississippi and Alabama is
a relatively pure chalk; the Bluffport Marl Member at
the top is an impure chalk which grades into the
overlying Kipley Formation. Northward, the upper
250 feet of the chalk becomes clayey, and the remainder
becomes a part of the Coffee Sand. In Tennessee this
clayey unit is called the Demopolis Formation. The
Demopolis does not contain any aquifers.
Ripley Formation. The Ripley Formation (Hilgard,
I860, p. 62) in Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee
has a maximum thickness of about 400 feet. In
northern Mississippi the formation includes, in ascend-
ing order, the transitional clay, Coon Creek Tongue,
McNairy Sand Member, and Chiwapa Member. In
Tennessee it includes, in ascending order, the Coon
Creek Tongue and the McNairy Sand Member. Only
the McNairy Sand occurs in Kentucky, Illinois, and
Missouri, and it has formational status in these States.
The undifferentiated Kipley Formation typically con-
sists of clay, sandy clay, sand, and thin beds of
sandstone.
A zone of clay above the Demopolis Chalk was de-
scribed as the transitional clay by Conant (1941, p.
22), who assigned the unit to the Ripley Formation.
The transitional clay is in the same stratigraphic posi-
tion and may be the lateral facies of the Bluffport Marl
Member of the Demopolis Chalk. The units are
lithologically similar. Sohl (1960, p. 11) states that
the transitional clay " * * * consists primarily of clays
which become increasingly arenaceous and argillaceous
upward as they grade into sand of the Ripley and in-
creasingly calcareous downward as they grade into the
Demopolis Chalk." The transitional clay in outcrop
averages less than 50 feet thick.
The Coon Creek Tongue (Wade, 1917, p. 74) is about
180 feet thick near the outcrop area in northern Mis-
sissippi (Parks, 1960, p. 67). The lower part of the
unit grades into the underlying transitional clay of the
Ripley Formation; the main body of the typical Coon
Creek Tongue is a dark-gray glauconitic micaceous
fossiliferous fine sand interbedded with clay.
The McNairy Sand Member (Stephenson, 1914, p.
22) is about 200 feet thick near the Mississippi-Ten-
nessee State line. Southward, it underlies the Chiwapa
Member and gradually grades into the upper marine
sand and clay of the Ripley Formation in northern
Mississippi. The McNairy Sand Member is a medium
to coarse sand, which is white to brown in subsurface
samples; in the outcrop it is varicolored and cross-
bedded, and characteristically includes indurated layers
of tubular ferruginous sandstone.
The Chiwapa Member (Mellen, 1958, p. 49) occurs
in northern Mississippi. The member "* *^ * is
characteristically a 'bored' or 'horsebone' limestone or
calcareous sandstone, an irregularly indurated stratum
of shallow marine sediment approximately 80 feet in
thickness at the top of the Ripley, and it can be traced
for a north-south distance of 85 miles, more or less."
The Chiwapa Member crops out from Tippah County,
Miss., southward to Clay County.
Sands of the Ripley Formation, particularly the
McNairy Sand Member and the Chiwapa Member, are
excellent aquifers.
Prairie Bluff Chalk and Owl Creek Formation. The
Prairie Bluff Chalk (Winchell, 1857, p. 84) is the upper-
most unit of the Upper Cretaceous Series in western
Alabama and Mississippi. In extreme northern Mis-
sissippi it is represented by the Owl Creek Formation
(Hilgard, 1860, p. 85), a facies which extends into
Tennessee and Missouri and possibly into Kentucky
and Illinois. The Prairie Bluff Chalk is from 30 to
70 feet thick and the Owl Creek Formation is about 45
feet thick in the subsurface. The Prairie Bluff Chalk
is a gray to white slightly sandy massive chalk which
grades northward into the highly fossiliferous dark-gray
fine micaceous silty sand and clay of the Owl Creek
Formation. The formations rest unconformably on
the Ripley Formation (the McNairy Sand in Missouri),
and underlie unconformably the Midway Group.
Neither formation is an aquifer.
 GENERAL GEOLOGY OF THE MISSISSIPPI EMBAYMENT
Demopolis Formation
The unit which has been called the "Selma Clay"
in Tennessee (Glenn, 1906, p. 26) is here called the
Demopolis Formation. Recent mapping of the Cre-
taceous sediments by E. E. Russell for the Tennessee
Division of Geology has shown that this unit, which
overlies the Coffee Sand and underlies the Ripley
Formation in Tennessee, is the upper part of the
Demopolis Chalk of the Selma Group in Mississippi.
Russell* (written communication) states that "the
unit is composed of massive calcareous clays, marls,
and some chalky materials." He calls the unit the
Demopolis Formation, and the name is appropriate.
Brownstown Marl
The Brownstown Marl (originally defined by Hill,
1888, p. 86-87; restricted by Dane, 1926) lies uncon-
formably on the Tokio Formation in Arkansas and
northern Louisiana and on the Blossom Sand in north-
eastern Texas. It is equivalent to the Mooreville
Chalk of Alabama and Mississippi. The Brownstown
Marl has a maximum thickness of about 280 feet in
the subsurface in southwestern Arkansas and consists
of dark-gray to tan fossiliferous calcareous clay, gray
marl, sand, and sandy clay. It yields small amounts
of highly mineralized water to a few wells in its outcrop.
Ozan Formation
The Ozan Formation (Dane, 1926) has a maximum
thickness of about 200 feet in southwestern Arkansas.
It varies from fossiliferous gray sandy marl, sand,
sandy limestone, and clay to chalk and marl. A layer
of glauconitic sand occurs at the base. The Ozan
Formation unconformably overlies the Brownstown
Marl. It yields small amounts of highly mineralized
water to a few wells in southwestern Arkansas.
Annona CliaXk
The Annona Chalk (originally defined by Hill, 1894,
p. 308; restricted by Dane, 1926) overlies the Ozan
Formation in southwestern Arkansas and the Browns-
town Marl in northern Louisiana and in parts of north-
eastern Texas. The Annona is as much as 100 feet
thick in Arkansas and as much as 400 feet thick in
Louisiana and Texas, where the lower part is probably
equivalent to tne Ozan Formation. The Annona is a
massive hard bluish-gray to white fossiliferous chalk,
and in Texas some chalky marl beds occur in the lower
part. The Annona is equivalent to part of the Demop-
olis Chalk of Alabama and Mississippi. It does not
yield water to wells.
Marlbrook or Taylor Marl
The Marlbrook Marl (orignially denned by Hill,
1888, p. 84-86; restricted by Stephenson, 1927, p. 15)
occurs in Louisiana and Arkansas. In Texas its
i Russell, E. E., Professor, Dept. of Geology, Mississippi State University,
Starkville, Miss.
B13
equivalent is the upper part of the Taylor Marl. The
Marlbrook has a maximum thickness of about 300
feet in the subsurface. It is a fossiliferous chalky blue
to gray marl containing some glauconitic sand and,
locally, thin beds of chalk. It does not yield water to
wells.
Navarro Group
The Navarro Group (Shumard, 1861, p. 189) in
northeastern Texas has not been subdivided. It
includes the units between the top of the Taylor Marl
and the base of the Midway Group. The Navarro
Group is equivalent to the Ripley Formation and the
Prairie Bluff Chalk or the Owl Creek Formation of
Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee.
In Texas, west of the area of study, the Navarro
Group has been divided, in ascending order, into the
Neylandville Marl, Nacatoch Sand, Corsicana Marl,
and Kemp Clay. In Arkansas and Louisiana the units
between the top of the Marlbrook Marl and the base
of the Midway Group have not been assigned to a group.
These units include, in ascending order, the Saratoga
Chalk (Saratoga Clay in Louisiana), Nacatoch Sand,
and Arkadelphia Marl.
Saratoga Chalk
The Saratoga Chalk (originally defined by Branner
1898, p. 53; restricted by Dane, 1926), called the Sara-
toga Clay in Louisiana, is 20 to 60 feet thick in Arkansas
and is probably equivalent to the Coon Creek Tongue
of the Ripley Formation. It is a white fossiliferous
sandy chalk and has a thin glauconitic and phosphatic
zone at its contact with the Marlbrook Marl, which it
overlies unconformably. It does not yield water to
wells.
Nacatocli Sand
The Nacatoch Sand (originally defined by Veatch,
1905, p. 180, 183; restricted by Dane, 1929, p. 117-
119) in Arkansas and Louisiana is virtually equivalent
to the Ripley Formation. It ranges in thickness from
about 100 to 500 feet in the subsurface. It is generally
a massive crossbedded yellowish to gray fine sand,
which is in part glauconitic and which is interbedded
with hard sandy limestone and light-gray clay and marl;
clay and marl are more abundant in the lower part of
the formation. The Nacatoch Sand supplies moderate
quantities of water to wells in its outcrop area and for
several miles downdip.
ArkadelpMa Marl
The Arkadelphia Marl (originally denned by Hill,
1888, p. 53-56; restricted by Dane, 1929, p. 144-145),
the equivalent of the Prairie Bluff Chalk and the Owl
Creek Formation, is the uppermost unit of the Upper
Cretaceous Series in Arkansas and Louisiana. It has
a maximum thickness of about 200 feet in the sub-
surface. The Arkadelphia Marl consists generally of
B14 WATER RESOURCES OF THE MISSISSIPPI EMBAYMENT

dark-blue fossiliferous marl interbedded with sandy Formation unconformably overlies the Cretaceous Sys-
limestone and may be glauconitic and chalky in part. tem. The contact with the overlying Wilcox Group is
It has an uncomformable but lithologically grada- indeterminate in most places, but in Alabama and
tional contact with the underlying Nacatoch Sand. adjacent parts of Mississippi the contact between the
The Arkadelphia Marl does not yield water to wells. basal beds of the Wilcox Group and the top of the
TERTIARY SYSTEM
Naheola Formation has been mapped. In other areas
the contact may be defined by weathered zones, deposits
The Tertiary System in the Mississippi embayment of kaolinitic material, bauxite, residuum, or other
comprises deposits of the Paleocene, Eocene, Oligocene, lithologic evidence of unconformity.
Miocene, and Pliocene (?) Series. Tertiary rocks occur Figure 6 is a contour map showing configuration of
either in the subsurface or crop out in about 75 percent the sandy zone immediately above the Porters Creek
of the region. Their maximum thickness is about Clay. The base of this zone, as shown on electric logs,
7,000 feet at the axis of the embayment at the southern is used as the top of the Midway Group.
limit of the region. The sediments are mostly uncon- Clayton Formation. The Clayton Formation (Lang-
solidated and consist mainly of sand, clay, and shale. don, 1891, p. 595) is commonly about 35 feet thick,
The Tertiary System overlies the Cretaceous Sys- but in many places in the outcrop area it is much
tem with marked unconformity, and it is overlain in thinner or missing because of overlap by the Porters
most places by alluvial deposits, terrace deposits, or Creek Clay.
loess, all of Quaternary age. The Clayton Formation is composed mostly of lime-
Several major Tertiary artesian aquifers supply stone, calcareous sand, and sandstone, all of marine
ground water to large areas of the Mississippi origin. In some places it is lithologically very similar
embayment. to underlying Cretaceous sediments but may be differen-
PALEOCENE SERIES tiated paleontologically. In other places a basal con-
The Paleocene Series underlies the Eocene Series glomerate marks the contact. Conant (1941, p. 27-32)
and overlies the Upper Cretaceous Series. It is com- recognizes two units in the Clayton Formation in
posed of nearly 1,000 feet of sediments, in which dark northern Mississippi, a basal limestone and marl mem-
clay is predominant. The Midway Group constitutes ber and an upper member. Weathered exposures in
the entire series except in northern Louisiana, where northern Mississippi are composed mostly of dark-red
the lower part of the Wilcox Group is included. sand, generally ferruginous and glauconitic. The con-
Midway Group tact with the overlying Porters Creek Clay is generally
In northern Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illi- gradational. The Clayton Formation contains no
nois, Missouri, and northern Louisiana, the Midway important aquifers.
Group (Smith, 1886, p. 14) comprises, in ascending order, Kincaid Formation. The Kincaid Formation (Gard-
the Clayton Formation and Porters Creek Clay. In Ar- ner, 1933b, p. 744) is the basal unit of Paleocene age in
kansas, except in the bauxite area, the Midway Group is northeastern Texas and in the Arkansas bauxite area.
undifferentiated. In the Arkansas bauxite area and in The Kincaid rests unconformably on Upper Cretaceous
northeastern Texas the Kincaid and Wills Point For- and older rocks. In the Arkansas bauxite area, where
mations compose the group. In central Mississippi the formation is apparently very irregular in thickness,
and western Alabama the Naheola Formation is in- it directly overlies the Paleozoic in some places (Gordon,
cluded in the Midway, but beds presumed to be equiva- Tracey, and Ellis, 1958, p. 13-25). The average
lent to the Naheola have been assigned to the overlying thickness of the formation in the embayment is about
Eocene Series in other areas. The Naborton and Dolet 30 feet. The formation consists predominantly of
Hills Formations of Paleocene age in Louisiana, prob- glauconitic sand, clay, and limestone, all of marine
ably partly equivalent to the Naheola Formation, are origin. In places there is a basal conglomerate com-
grouped with the Wilcox on the basis of lithology. posed of reworked material from underlying beds. The
The maximum subsurface thickness of the Midway Kincaid Formation is correlative with the Clayton
Group is about 1,000 feet at the axis of the embayment Formation.
at the southern limit of the region. The thickness near Sandy beds in the Kincaid Formation yield small
the outcrop area ranges from a known minimum of quantities of water to wells.
180 feet in Kentucky to about 600 feet in parts of Texas, Porters Creek Clay. The Porters Creek Clay (Safford,
Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama. 1864, p. 361, 368), called the Porters Creek Formation
The Midway Group is composed predominantly of in Alabama, is less than 180 feet thick in the subsurface
marine clay and shale but includes subordinate sand in western Kentucky but thickens to almost 1,000
and limestone beds. The basal limestone of the Clayton feet near the axis of the embayment at the southern
 GENERAL GEOLOGY OF THE MISSISSIPPI EMBAYMENT B15

Approximate limit of Midway Group

o so 100 MILES

Contour interval 200 feet

Datum is mean sea level

Compiled from data submitted by

J. G. Newton for Alabama; R. L
Hosman for Arkansas; T. W.
Lambert for Kentucky; C. E.
Harris, Jr., and W. H. Walker for
Louisiana; E. H. Boswell for Missis- |
sippi; G. K. Moore for Tennessee
and E. T. Baker, Jr., for Texas

34'

|| ALABAMA f

33

32

FIQUKE 6. Contour map showing configuration of the base of sandy zone above the Porters Creek Clay.

limit of the region. The formation thins markedly
to less than 100 feet over some structural highs in the
subsurface but elsewhere changes in thickness are
gradual.
In most of the embayment the Porters Creek is very
dark gray or black blocky clay. Subordinate beds of
sand occur in several places, and the Tippah Sand
Lentil (Lowe, 1915, p. 64) is a recognized member in
extreme northern Mississippi. Ferruginous concre-
tions and layers are common. In the northern part of
the region the upper part of the formation is composed
of interbedded or laminated fine sand and gray clay.
The Porters Creek does not include any important
aquifers.
In Alabama and southeastern Mississippi, the
Matthews Landing Marl Member (Smith, 1886, p. 13),
a very glauconitic sandy fossiliferous marl or sandstone
that is generally less than 10 feet thick, is the upper-
most unit of the Porters Creek. It is a well-defined
stratigraphic marker in western Alabama and eastern
Mississippi, where its fauna and marine lithology are
distinctive. Northward, it becomes a thin marl and
loses its identity in Winston County, Miss.
Wills Point Formation. The Wills Point Formation
(originally defined by Penrose, 1890, p. 19; redefined
by Plummer, 1927) is the uppermost formation of
Paleocene age in northeastern Texas and in the Arkansas
bauxite area. It is underlain by the Kincaid Formation
and overlain by the Wilcox Formation or Group.
The Wills Point is predominantly gray to green cal-
careous clay of marine origin. The upper part of the
formation is sandy in places and appears to grade into
sands of the overlying Wilcox. The average thickness
of the formation is about 500 feet. The Wills Point
Formation is not known to yield fresh water to wells
in the embayment.
Naheola Formation. In western Alabama nnd eastern
Mississippi, the Naheola Formation (Smith, 1886, p.
13) is a part of the Midway Group. The formation
thins from about 200 feet in Alabama to less than 100 feet
in Mississippi. In western Alabama the Naheola For-
mation is divided into the Oak Hill Member below and
B16 WATER RESOURCES OF THE MISSISSIPPI EMBATMENT
the Coal Bluff Marl Member above. In the remainder
of the embayment, where the Matthews Landing Marl
Member of the Porters Creek Clay has not been identi-
fied, beds equivalent to the Naheola Formation are
sometimes included in the Porters Creek or, for litho-
logic reasons, in the overlying Wilcox.
The Oak Hill Member (Toulmin, LaMoreaux, and
Lanphere, 1951, p. 42) consists characteristically of
thinly laminated fine sand and silty clay. In places,
a bed of lignite, defining the contact with the overlying
Coal Bluff Marl Member (Smith, 1886, p. 12), forms
the top of the member. The Coal Bluff Marl Member
is predominantly marine sand and clay, which includes
a fossiliferous bed (LaMoreaux and Toulmin, 1959, p.
83).
Sandy beds in the Naheola Formation are water
bearing in western Alabama and the adjacent parts of
Mississippi but are not important hydrologically in the
remainder of the embayment.
EOCENE SERIES
The Eocene Series crops out or underlies about 70
percent of the embayment. It is thickest in the south-
eastern part of the region, where marine phases provide
a basis for unit differentiation. The Eocene rocks are
divided, in ascending order, into the "Wilcox Group or
Formation, Claiborne Group, and Jackson Group or
Formation.
Wilcox Group
The "Wilcox Group (Crider and Johnson, 1906, p. 5,
9) includes, in ascending order, the Nanafalia Forma-
tion, Tuscahoma Sand, and Hatchetigbee Formation
in western Alabama and the Berger and Saline Forma-
tions and Detonti Sand in the Arkansas bauxite area.
In northern Louisiana the Naborton and Dolet Hills
Formations of Paleocene age are considered a part of
the Wilcox Group. The Wilcox Group is undifferen-
tiated in Arkansas (except in the bauxite area), Illinois,
Kentucky, and Tennessee. In Mississippi, Missouri,
and northeastern Texas, the Wilcox is considered to be
a formation.
Although undifferentiated, the Wilcox in the sub-
surface of northern Mississippi, northeastern Arkansas,
Tennessee, Kentucky, and Missouri contains at least
two distinct lithologic units a lower predominantly
sand unit and an upper predominantly shale or clay
unit. The sandy unit is called the "1,400-foot" sand
(Klaer, 1940, p. 92) of the Memphis area (pi. 2), which
has been traced for considerable distances in the north-
ern part of the embayment (Schneider and Gushing,
1948, p. 3). This sand is an important source of
ground water in the region.
Nanajalia Formation. The Nanafalia Formation
(Smith, 1886, p. 12), has a maximum thickness of
about 230 feet. It is the basal formation of the Wilcox
Group in western Alabama, where it consists of sand,
marl, and clay. Kaolinitic and bauxitic material is
disseminated through the formation in some places.
Locally, deposits of bauxite and kaolin occur in the
lower part of the Nanafalia Formation or in the equiv-
alent part of the Wilcox. In western Alabama the
Nanafalia Formation comprises three members (La-
Moreaux and Toulmin, 1959, p. 98), which, in ascending
order, are the Gravel Creek Sand Member, the middle
member, and the Grampian Hills Member.
According to LaMoreaux and Toulmin (1959, p. 98),
the Gravel Creek Sand Member "consists of white to
yellow medium- to coarse-grained crossbedded sand
with stringers and thin lenses of fine gravel and clay
pebbles." It is correlative with the Fearn Springs
Member (Mellen 1939, p. 33) of the Wilcox Formation
of Mississippi. The Fearn Springs Member includes a
basal coarse sand and an upper laminated fine sand and
gray clay (Hughes, 1958, p. 148). The middle member
of the Nanafalia Formation includes the Ostrea thirsae
beds. These beds also occur in the basal part of the
Eocene Series in Louisiana (Durham and Smith, 1958,
p. 5-6). The Grampian Hills Member of the Nanafalia
Formation consists of gray clay and beds of glauconitic
sand and sandstone (LaMoreaux and Toulmin, 1959, p.
100).
The Nanafalia Formation and its equivalents in the
lower part of the Wilcox form one of the most important
aquifers in the Mississippi embayment. The "1,400-
foot" sand of the Memphis area may be equivalent, in
part, to the Nanafalia Formation.
Tuscahoma Sand. The Tuscahoma Sand (Smith,
Johnson, and Langdon, 1894, p. 162-170) is composed
of lenticular fine sand, gray clay, and laminated fine
sand and clay, all containing some lignite. In western
Alabama the formation includes the Greggs Landing
Marl Member (Smith, 1886, p. 12) and the Bells Landing
Marl Member (Smith, 1883, p. 256). These marine
beds become indistinguishable from the rest of the
Wilcox Formation northwestward in Mississippi.
The average thickness of the Tuscahoma Sand is
about 350 feet. Because of its fine grain size and
lenticularity, the Tusrahoma Sand is not used as ex-
tensively as a source of water as the Nanafalia For-
mation.
flatchetigbee formation. The Hatchetigbee Forma-
tion (Smith, 1886, p. 10) is the youngest formation of
the Wilcox Group in western Alabama. The formation
is predominantly gray lignitic clay and fine sand but
contains scattered beds of lignite. The Bashi Mail
Member (Heilprin, 1882, p. 158-159), a distinctive
fossiliferous marine bed at the base of the formation,
overlies the Tuscahoma Sand. The Bashi Marl Member
 GENERAL GEOLOGY OF THE MISSISSIPPI EMBAYMENT BIT
has been tentatively identified as far north as southern region, the Claibome Group can be subdivided into
Winston County, Miss. (McNeil, 1946, p. 21-22). formations, on the basis of marine beds. In the
Lenticular beds of sand are locally important as aquifers. northern part of the region the Claiborne Group is
Berger and Saline Formations and Detonti Sand. undifferentiated.
In the Arkansas bauxite area, the Wilcox Group com- The group, in ascending order, is composed of the
prises the Berger and Saline Formations and the Detonti following units: The Tallahatta Formation, Winona
Sand, which have been described in detail by Gordon, Sand, and Zilpha Clay, and their equivalents the
Tracey, and Ellis (1958, p. 38-58). Elsewhere in Carrizo Sand and Mount Selman Formation in Texas
Arkansas, the group has not been divided. The equiv- and the Carrizo Sand and Cane River Formation in
alence of these formations to those described in Arkansas and Louisiana; the Sparta Sand; the Cook
Alabama or Louisiana has not been shown. The Berger Mountain Formation; and the Cockfield Formation.
Formation is about 25 feet thick in outcrop and is In Kentucky and Tennessee the Claibome Group is
composed of lignitic sand and clay characteristic of the undifferentiated.
Wilcox; bauxitic and kaolinitic material occurs in beds Tallahatta Formation. The Tallahatta Formation
throughout the formation. (Dall, 1898, p. 344) in Alabama and Mississippi is
Naborton Formation. Murray (1948, p. 94-95) de- equivalent to the Carrizo Sand and to the Reklaw
scribes the Naborton Formation as "calcareous, buff to Member and Queen City Sand Member of the Mount
gray, fine- to medium-grained sands, clays, and lignitic Selman Formation of Texas and to the Carrizo Sand
silts." The formation reaches a maximum thickness of and the lower part of the Cane River Formation of
about 200 feet. The thin-bedded or laminated struc- Arkansas and Louisiana.
ture of the beds and the stratigraphic position of the The Tallahatta Formation in Alabama includes the
unit suggest that the Naborton may be partly equiva- Meridian Sand Member. In central Mississippi it
lent to the Oak Hill Member of the Naheola Formation. includes the Meridian Sand Member, Basic City Shale
The Naborton Formation crops out in a small area Member, and Neshoba Sand Member. In northern
in northwestern Louisiana and is extensive in the sub- Mississippi it includes the Holly Springs Sand Member.
surface. It is not known to contain an aquifer in the The Tallahatta Formation in western Alabama and
embayment, but it is an important source of ground eastern Mississippi averages about 90 feet in thickness.
water in DeSoto and Red River Parishes, La. In north-central Mississippi it thickens to about 200
Dolet Hills Formation. The Dolet Hills Formation feet in outcrop, and it may reach a thickness of 400
(Murray, 1948, p. 105) consists of fine to medium mas- feet in the subsurface.
sive sand and subordinate clay and lignite. It is The Meridian Sand Member (Lowe, 1933, p. 1,
extensive in the subsurface, has a maximum thickness 105-106) of the Tallahatta Formation crops out in
of 125 feet, and crops out in the same general area as western Alabama and in Mississippi. It is the basal
the Naborton Formation. It is probably partly member of the Claiborne Group and is equivalent
equivalent to the Naheola Formation. to the Carrizo Sand of Arkansas, Louisiana, and
Above the Dolet Hills Formation are undifferentiated Texas. The thickness of the Meridian Sand Member
beds of sand and clay (Murray, 1948, p. 138) which are is variable, averaging probably more than 100 feet.
also considered to be of Paleocene age. These beds, Brown (1947, pi. 9) shows the maximum thickness
together with the Naborton and Dolet Hills Formations, to be 490 feet in the subsurface in Holmes County,
are included in the Wilcox Group in Louisiana on the Miss.
basis of lithology. The Meridian Sand Member is fine to very coarse
Claibome Group quartz sand, which is characteristically crossbedded.
Rocks of the Claibome Group (Conrad, 1848, The contact with the underlying Wilcox Group is
p. 280-283) are known to crop out in all States included determined by the presence of lignitic clay or shale
in this investigation except Illinois and Missouri. In or highly carbonaceous material characteristic of the
the northern part of the embayment, some beds pre- Wilcox.
viously designated as members of the Wilcox may be The Meridian Sand Member is a productive aquifer
members of the Claibome Group because of the broad in the embayment. The basal part of the "500-foot"
overlap by the Claibome Group in the region. sand (Klaer, 1940, p. 92) of the Memphis area (pi. 2)
The maximum thickness of the Clairborne Group, probably is equivalent to the Meridian Sand Member.
about 2,600 feet, occurs in the subsurface in the The Basic City Shale Member (Brown and Adams,
southern part of the embayment. The group is com- 1943, p. 43) is composed of sparsely fossiliferous light-
posed of marine and nonmarine sand, sandy clay, clay, colored claystone, siltstone, and shale. Ledges of
shale, and limestone. In the southern part of the orthoquartzite (buhrstone) are common. The Basic
B18 WATER RESOURCES OF THE MISSISSIPPI EMBAYMENT
City Shale Member is not an important aquifer
except in northwestern Mississippi, where sandy facies
of the unit occur.
The Neshoba Sand Member (Thomas, 1942, p. 24)
of the Tallahatta Formation occurs in central Missis-
sippi and is about 50 feet thick. It gradually thickens
northward and is in the subsurface in central and
northwestern Mississippi. The Neshoba Sand Mem-
ber is typically fine micaceous quartz sand containing
some gray clay. It is locally glauconitic but is not
known to be fossiliferous. The Neshoba Sand Member
is considered by Stenzel (1952, p. 32) to be equivalent
to the lower part of the Queen City Sand Member
of the Mount Selman Formation. The Neshoba Sand
Member is an aquifer in some areas in Mississippi.
The Holly Springs Sand Member (Lowe, 1913,
p. 23-25) of the Tallahatta Formation in northern
Mississippi was originally considered to be a formation
of the Wilcox Group in Mississippi, Tennessee, and
Kentucky. Foster (1940, p. 32, 53) restricts the name
Holly Springs to beds in Lauderdale County, Miss.,
that are equivalent to the Tuscahoma Sand in adjoin-
ing Alabama. MacNeil (1946, p. 17) states that "the
type Holly Springs formation of northern Mississippi,
* * * is the nonmarine equivalent of the Tallahatta
formation to the south. The name Holly Springs
was accordingly abandoned in favor of Tallahatta for
all of Mississippi." MacNeil (1947), however, uses
the name Holly Springs Sand Member for the entire
Tallahatta Formation of northern Mississippi. Brown
(1947, p. 34) states that "the outcrops of sand around
Holly Springs are exposures of the Meridian sand
member of the Tallahatta formation * * * ."
The use of the name Holly Springs Sand Member
probably should be discontinued because of the pre-
vious long association of the name with the Wilcox
Group, but additional work is needed to determine the
stratigraphic relation of this unit to other Eocene
units in northern Mississippi.
Carrizo Sand. The Carrizo Sand (Owen, 1889, p. 70)
in Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas is equivalent to
the Meridian Sand Member of the Tallahatta Forma-
tion of western Alabama and Mississippi. Like the
Meridian Sand Member, the Carrizo varies in thickness
because of its deposition on the irregular surface of the
Wilcox sediments. The sand probably does not ex-
ceed 200 feet in thickness, and in many places it is
reported to be absent.
The Carrizo Sand consists of fine to coarse light-
gray to brownish-gray micaceous sand. It is an
aquifer in the western part of the embayment.
'Mount Selman Formation. The Mount Selman
Format ion (Kennedy, 1892, p. 45, 52-54), comprises
in ascending order, the Reklaw (Wendlandt and Knebel,
1929, p. 1352), Queen City Sand (Kennedy, 1892, p. 50),
and Weches Greensand (Wendlandt and Knebel, 1929,
p. 1356) Members, or all strata above the top of the
Carrizo Sand and below the base of the Sparta Sand.
The Mount Selman Formation is equivalent to the
Cane River Formation of Louisiana and Arkansas and
to the Tallahatta Formation (except the Meridian
Sand Member), Winona Sand, and Zilpha Clay of
Mississippi. The Mount Selman Formation averages
about 300 feet in thickness.
Overlying the Carrizo Sand and separated from it
by a disconformity is the Reklaw Member of the Mount
Selman Formation, a sequence of dark-colored strati-
fied shales and sands that are commonly fossiliferous,
micaceous, and glauconitic. Thin lenses of limonite
normally are associated with the glauconite. The
member is sandy in places, which makes it difficult to
separate the Reklaw from the overlying and under-
lying units. The thickness of the Reklaw Member
probably does not exceed 125 feet.
The Queen City Sand Member of tne Mount Selman
Formation, overlying the Reklaw Member, consists
predominantly of gray to grayish-brown fine to medium
sand interbedded with layers of dark carbonaceous
shale, silt, and impure lignite. The sands are cross-
bedded and lenticular. Beds or lenses of glauconite
reportedly occur near the middle of the member. The
thickness of the Queen City Sand Member in north-
eastern Texas is not known, but it probably is about
200 feet.
The lower part of the Queen City Sand Member is
considered by Stenzel (1952, p. 32) to be equivalent to
the Neshoba Sand Member of the Tallahatta Forma-
tion. Various aspects of the geology of the Queen
City Sand Member have been discussed by Smith
(1958). The Queen City Sand Member is an impor-
tant aquifer in northeastern Texas.
The Weches Greensand Member of the Mount
Selman Formation overlies the Queen City Sand Mem-
ber and consists predominantly of dark-green beds of
glauconitic highly crossbedded, lenticular sand and of
some thin strata of dark-gray to black glauconitic
clay and shale. Limonite and siderite are concen-
trated sufficiently in places to make the unit of economic
importance. The Weches Greensand Member is rela-
tively thin; the unit probably is not more than 60 feet
thick. It is equivalent to the Winona Sand and prob-
ably to Zilpha Clay of Mississippi.
Cane Hirer Formation. The Cane River Formation
(Spooner, 1926, p. 235-236) in Arkansas and Louisiana
includes from 150 to more than 500 feet of clay, sandy
clay, marl, and thin beds of fine sand. Marine clay is
predominant, and the beds are, in part, glauconitic and
calcareous. The Cane River Formation includes all
 GENERAL GEOLOGY OF THE MISSISSIPPI EMBAYMENT
94" 93
Approximate limit of Cane River Formation
or its equivalents
Contour interval 200 feet
Datum is mean sea level
Compiled from data submitted by
R. L. Hosman for Arkansas; C. E.
Harris, Jr., and W. H. Walker for
Louisiana; E. H. Boswell for Missis-
sippi and E. T. Baker, Jr., for Texas
32
FIGURE 7. Contour map showing configuration of the base of the Cane River Formation or its equivalents.
beds above the top of the Carrizo Sand and below the
base of the Sparta Sand. It is correlative with the
Mount Selman Formation and with the Tallahatta
Formation (except the Meridian Sand Member),
Winona Sand, and Zilpha Clay.
Figure 7 is a contour map showing configuration of
the base of the Cane River Formation, the base of the
Mount Selman Formation, and the base of the Basic
City Shale Member of the Tallahatta Formation. The
map is compiled for the southern part of the embay-
ment, where these formations have been recognized.
The sands of the Cane River Formation are fine and
relatively impermeable. In some areas these sands are
important as aquifers.
Winona Sand. In typical outcrops the Winona Sand
(Lowe, 1919, p. 73) is a highly glauconitic fossiliferous
sand and clay. It has been mapped only in Mississippi.
In Tennessee and northward, the nonmarine sands
equivalent to the Winona Sand are included hi the
undifferentiated Claiborne Group.
B19
92 91 90 89
The Winona Sand ranges in thickness from less than
10 feet near the Alabama State line to a maximum of
about 50 feet in north-central Mississippi, where it is
locally an aquifer.
Zilpha Clay The Zilpha Clay (Thomas, 1942, p. 34)
crops out in Mississippi but has not been recognized
in other parts of the region. The top of the Zilpha
Clay is equivalent to the top of the Cane River Forma-
tion of Arkansas and Louisiana and to the top of the
Mount Selman Formation of Texas.
The thickness of the outcropping Zilpha Clay ranges
from a few feet to 75 feet (Thomas, 1942, p. 38). It is
much thicker in the subsurface to the southwest. The
Zilpha is a dark-gray clay that is carbonaceous, gen-
erally glauconitic, sparingly fossiliferous, and predom-
inantly of marine origin. It is not an aquifer.
Sparta Sand. The Sparta Sand (originally defined by
Vaughan, 1895, p. 225; restricted by Spooner, 1926,
p. 235) crops out in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and
Mississippi. The Sparta has an average thickness in
B20 WATER RESOURCES OF THE MISSISSIPPI EMBAYMENT

94" 93 92" 91* 90 89

EXPLANATION

Approximate limit of Sparta Sand

0 50 100 MILES

Contour interval 200 feet

Datum is mean sea level
Compiled from data submitted by
R. L Hosman for Arkansas; C. E.
Harris, Jr., and W. H. Walker for
Louisiana; and E. H. Boswell for
Mississippi

34

33' -

32

FIGURE 8. Contour map showing configuration of the top of the Sparta Sand.

outcrops of about 300 feet, but it thins to less than 100 Cook Mountain Formation. The Cook Mountain
feet in southeastern Mississippi. It thickens consid- Formation (Kennedy, 1892, p. 54-57) crops out in
erably in the subsurface and may be as much as 1,000 Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana. The formation
feet thick near the axis of the embayment at the south- is about 100 feet thick in the outcrop area, and it has
ern limit of the region. The upper part of the "500- a maximum thickness of about 200 feet in the
foot" sand of the Memphis area probably is Sparta embayment.
Sand. In eastern Mississippi, the Cook Mountain Forma-
Figure 8 is a contour map showing configuration of tion was divided by Thomas (1942, p. 49) into the
the top of the Sparta Sand. It is compiled for the Archusa Marl Member at the base, the Potterchitto Sand
southern part of the region, where the sand has been Member, and the Gordon Creek Shale Member. These
recognized. units have not been identified in the subsurface, where
The Sparta is predominantly fluviatile sand contain- the formation is generally divisible into only two litho-
ing subordinate amounts of sandy clay or shale. In logic units. In Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana
Mississippi, the outcropping beds locally include ledges
the lower part of the Cook Mountain is glauconitic,
of orthoquartzite in the lower part of the unit, whereas
in the upper part the sand is interbedded with light-gray calcareous fossiliferous sandy marl or limestone and
clay. In the subsurface, lignite and other organic ma- seems to be equivalent to the Archusa Marl Member.
terial are common. The Sparta Sand in Texas contains The upper unit is sandy carbonaceous clay or shale,
ferruginous sandstone ledges in some places. which is locally glauconitic.
The Sparta Sand is one of the most productive The Cook Mountain Formation is not important
aquifers in the region. regionally as a source of water.
 GENERAL GEOLOGY OF THE MISSISSIPPI EMBAYMENT
Cockfield Formation. The Cockfield Formation
(Vaughan, 1895, p. 220) crops out in Arkansas, Lou-
isiana, and Mississippi. It has an average thickness
in outcrop of about 250 feet in Mississippi and thickens
in the subsurface to a maximum of about 600 feet.
The Cockfield Formation is fine to medium quartz
sand and carbonaceous clay. The formation is very
lenticular, but sand is fairly persistent in the lower
part. Lignite is common in the subsurface.
The Cockfield Formation is the youngest Eocene
artesian aquifer in the Mississippi embayment.
Jackson Group
The Jackson (Conrad, 1856, p. 257-258) crops out in
Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Mississippi.
The Jackson Group is undifferentiated in Arkansas and
northern Mississippi, but in Louisiana and central
Mississippi it is separated into the Moodys Branch
Formation and Yazoo Clay. The Jackson is a forma-
tion in Tennessee.
The truncated Jackson Group underlies extensive
deposits of the Mississippi River alluvium in the south-
ern part of the region. The occurrence of a fossil bone
of Jackson age in the bluffs along the Mississippi River
about 35 miles north of Memphis indicates that the
Jackson sea probably extended considerably farther
northward. Some of the clays and silts in Kentucky
may represent deposition in the northern extension of
the sea. The Jackson sea was the last extensive marine
invasion of the Mississippi embayment.
The Jackson Group does not include an aquifer in
the region.
Moodys Branch Formation. The Moodys Branch For-
mation (originally defined by Meyer, 1885, p. 435;
described by Lowe, 1915, p. 75) is recognized in Missis-
sippi and Louisiana. Normally 20 to 30 feet thick,
it is a highly fossiliferous glauconitic sandy marl
which unconformably overlies the uppermost beds of
the Claiborne Group.
Yazoo Clay. The Yazoo Clay (Lowe, 1915, p. 79)
is calcareous fossiliferous dark-gray to blue clay. Its
thickness ranges from 350 to 500 feet where the entire
unit is present. The Yazoo Clay in Mississippi was
divided, in ascending order, by Murray (1947, p. 1839)
into the North Creek, Cocoa Sand, Pachuta Marl, and
Shubuta Members. The contact of the Shubuta
Member with the overlying Forest Hill Sand is the
Eocene-Oligocene boundary.
OLIGOCENE SERIES
The Oligocene Series comprises the Forest Hill Sand
(Cooke, 1918, p. 187) and the Vicksburg Group (Con-
rad, 1848, p. 280-281). These units crop out in the
extreme south-central part of the region and have an
B21
aggregate thickness averaging about 200 feet. They
thicken in the subsurface.
The Forest Hill Sand is an aquifer of local importance.
MIOCENE SERIES
The Catahoula Sandstone of Miocene age crops out
in southern Hinds, Rankin, and Warren Counties,
Miss. It was not studied in this investigation.
QUATERNARY SYSTEM
Deposits of Quaternary age cover much of the Coastal
Plain surface and are assigned to the Pleistocene and
Recent Epochs. The Quaternary sediments include
sand, gravel, and clay occurring mostly as alluvial and
terrace deposits. Loess covers much of the area east
of the Mississippi River alluvial plain and caps Crowleys
Ridge.
The sand and gravel deposits of the Mississippi
River alluvial plain form the most important Quater-
nary ground-water reservoir. The thickness of the
alluvium varies greatly, but generally ranges from 100
to 200 feet. The lower part generally is composed of
gravel and very coarse sand, whereas the upper part
typically includes fine to medium sand and clay. Many
large-capacity wells obtain water from the Mississippi
River alluvium.
Alluvial deposits along other streams have been
extensively developed in localities where they are
capable of yielding large quantities of water.
STRUCTURE
The present Mississippi embayment is a syncline
plunging to the south. The axis of the syncline roughly
follows the present course of the Mississippi River.
The trough is filled with sedimentary rocks ranging in
age from Jurassic to Recent and has been extensively
modified by various structural features (fig. 9). The
character of the deposits was controlled by a deposi-
tional environment resulting, in part, from the structure.
Initial tectonic movements that resulted in the for-
mation of the Mississippi embayment syncline may
have been a part of the Appalachin revolution at the
end of the Paleozoic Era. The uplift of the Appalach-
ian Mountains was accompanied by other subcrustal
movement, and the initial subsidence in the south-
western part of the embayment may have occurred at
this time.
The major portion of the syncline was not yet in
existence at the end of the Paleozoic Era. At the
beginning of the Mesozoic Era the eastern part of the
Ouachita Mountain system, the Ozark uplift, and the
southwestern extremity of the Appalachian Mountain
system occupied part of tne region. Siuce the Triassic
Period, weathering of these uplifted areas has produced
B22 WATER RE SOURCES OF THE MISSISSIPPI EMBAYMENT

95 94= 93" 92 91

37 Post-Paleozoic structural features

Paleozoic structural features

0 50 100 MILES

36

i I J^V-4^
LT^'-p^/ I ~
sfiS^fcWj-^
^qrfgt^rt?
K. 1 i
rfe^__j-._-j/ I J_ I _ I
^;k^Pf=f-^e*^ t
j~^-! U
> T
\
--^ i
' '/ '

i AT.ARAMA (^

-*--Y>V L FAULT ^ J ' L

1 ,1^r | L<?0/V^/ I
-rilff / T'^vl .b^T
FT7
I \A^ /-'-
' LA5ABI 4 up<ll-l(rT L^^^LOUISIANA >O^J"^
"TtrtW^ >^vt^
- ^ttrzb^EiiJL^
FIGURE 9. Structure map of the Mississippi embayment.

vast quantities of detrital material which was trans- MESOZOIC ERA

ported and deposited to form part of the complex TRIASSIC PERIOD
sedimentary-rock assemblage in the present embay- No direct evidence of a sedimentary basin during the
ment. The sedimentation occurred concurrently with Triassic Period has been observed. Any sediments
subsidence and inundation of the Gulf Coast geosyncline of Triassic age were eroded or have not been identified.
and the trough of the Mississippi embayment. The
JURASSIC PERIOD
subsidence is presumed to have been caused primarily
by subcrustal movement and sedimentary loading and During the Jurassic Period the southern part of the
also by compaction of the sediments. Mississippi embayment was a sedimentary basin, and
Many of the rock units in the Mississippi embayment deposits of Late Jurassic age occur in the subsurface.
change from a clastic facies in the northern part of the The northern limit of these sediments is near the
region near the source of the sedimentary material, southern flank of the buried eastern extension of the
through an intermediate facies characteristic of conti- Ouachita Mountain system, a fact which indicates that
nental shelves, to deeper marine deposits in the southern the system was still positive enough to have considerable
part of the embayment or in the Gulf Coast geosyn- control on deposition. The character of the Jurassic
cline. Most types of sedimentary rocks are represented sediments indicates that a large river in northern
in the region. The units thicken gradually downdip Mississippi was the source of material in the Arkansas-
and abruptly through zones of increased subsidence. Mississippi area (Imlay, 1943, p. 1451, 1524). The
The maximum thickness of post-Paleozoic sediments, areal configuration and thickness of the deposits indicate
about 18,000 feet, occurs at the axis of the embayment that the axis of the embayment was slightly east of the
in the extreme southern part of the region. present trough. Also, the Sabine uplift area was a basin
 GENERAL GEOLOGY OF THE MISSISSIPPI EMBAYMENT B23
and a center of Late Jurassic deposition (Imlay, 1956-, and may have extended considerably farther north.
pi. 8). Since the end of Jackson time, most of the Mississippi
CRETACEOUS PERIOD embayment has remained above sea level.
The fact that Lower Cretaceous rocks extend farther QUATERNARY PERIOD
north (Nunnally and Fowler, 1954) than the underlying General subsidence and adjustment continued during
Jurassic deposits indicates that subsidence continued the Quaternary Period. The initial uplift of the
into Early Cretaceous tune and that the boundary effect Kilmichael dome may have occurred as early as late
wnich the Ouachita Mountain system had on deposition Eocene, but the structure may be of Quaternary age.
decreased. In the extreme southern part of the embay- The alluvial fill of the Mississippi River valley was de-
ment, a sufficient thickness of sediment had accumulated posited and extensive terrace systems were formed
over the Jurassic sedimentary salt beds to start the during the Quaternary. Some diastrophism has oc-
intermittent upward movement of the salt plugs and curred during historic time; the formation of Reelfoot
folds which eventually formed salt domes; however, Lake, for example, was the result of faulting associated
most of the upward movement seems to have occurred with the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-12.
during the Tertiary Period.
PHYSIOGRAPHY
During the Late Cretaceous Epoch, the sea reached its
maximum northern limit for the Mesozoic Era. Upper The Mississippi embayment is a part of the Atlantic
Cretaceous sediments were deposited throughout the Coastal Plain (Fenneman, 1938, p. 1) and lies within
embayment, and subsidence and deposition continued the Gulf Coastal Plain. The syncline forming the em-
at an accelerated though intermittent rate. Volcanic bayment is filled with sedimentary rocks, which crop
activity was common, as indicated by widespread out in a modified belted pattern (pi. 1). Differential
volcanic material in Upper Cretaceous rocks. The erosion of these rocks has resulted in several physio-
Sabine uplift is of early Late Cretaceous age. Near the graphic districts typical of the Coastal Plain province.
end of Late Cretaceous tune the Monroe uplift create/1 a The embayment is separable into two general physio-
structural high across the original axis of the embay- graphic areas, the lowland of the Mississippi Alluvial
ment, partially isolating the Desha basin. Plain and the Coastal Plain uplands. Figure 10 shows
The Desha basin occupies the part of the original the more important physiographic districts of the region.
embayment trough north of the Monroe uplift. The The physiographic districts on the eastern side of the
Jackson dome resulted from an igneous intrusion near embayment are the Fall Line Hills, Black Belt, Pontotoc
the end of the Late Cretaceous, although some move- Ridge and Ripley Cuesta, Flatwoods, North Central
ment continued to occur at least until Oligocene tune. Plateau, Buhrstone Cuesta, Jackson Prairie, Southern
Several other smaller structural features of igneous or Pine Hills, and Loess Hills.
volcanic origin were formed, and the Mississippi embay- The Fall Line Hills occupy the 'periphery of the em-
ment assumed its present size and shape by the end of bayment from Alabama to southern Tennessee and
the Cretaceous Period. constitute an area of rugged topography formed from
the outcropping resistant sands of the Tuscaloosa
CENOZOIC ERA Group, the McShan and Eutaw Formations, and the
TERTIARY PERIOD Coffee Sand. The district becomes indistinct in
The Tertiary Period is characterized by a series of southern Tennessee, as the result of successive pinch
cyclic inundations and regressions by the sea. The out of progressively younger underlying geologic units.
maximum northern extent of inundation was probably The Black Belt is the topographic expression of the
during late Midway tune. There is evidence that uplift carbonate units of the Sehna Group. The district is
of the Appalachian Mountains continued intermittently characterized by gently rolling to nearly flat terrain
at least into the Eocene (Todd and Folk, 1957); this and reaches its maximum width in western Alabama and
uplift was accompanied by subsidence in the embayment central Mississippi. The district narrows abruptly in
due to subcrustal movement, loading, and compaction. northern Mississippi and becomes indistinct in southern
Widespread faulting is reflected, in part, by flexure Tennessee.
zones along the edges of continental shelves. Axes of The Ripley, Owl Creek, and Clayton Formations
deposition for most of the Tertiary units are similar, underlie the Pontotoc Ridge in northern Mississippi
and so are the configurations of the surfaces of the units and southern Tennessee, and the Ripley Formation,
as shown on the contour maps (figs. 6, 7, and 8). The Prairie Bluff Chalk, and Clayton Formation underlie
last widespread inundation by the sea occurred during the Ripley Cuesta in western Alabama. Between
Jackson tune at the end of the Eocene Epoch. The these districts, the Ripley is similar in lithology to the
sea left evidence of its presence as far north as Tennessee underlying Demopolis Chalk and the outcrop area is
B24 WATER RESOURCES OF THE MISSISSIPPI EMBAYMENT

94 93" 92 91 90 89

32

FIGURE 10. Physiographic map of the Mississippi embayment.

included in the Black Belt. Fenneman (1938, pi. 6) The gulfward margin of the Flatwoods is bordered by
shows the Pontotoc Ridge extending a short distance the North Central Plateau. This district is underlain
into Tennessee. However, an extension of the ridge by the dissected outcropping Wilcox and Claiborne
may form the divide between the Tennessee and Mis- deposits, which are predominantly sandy. The to-
sissippi Rivers in northern Tennessee and Kentucky. pography is modified by extensive terrace and loess
In western Alabama the Ripley Formation again deposits. In southeastern Mississippi and southwestern
becomes sandy, and the outcropping beds form the Alabama the North Central Plateau includes a line of
Ripley Cuesta. The relatively resistant limestone beds hills referred to as the Buhrstone Cuesta (Tallahatta
of the Clayton Formation are an important factor in Hills). This cuesta, underlain by the Tallahatta
the formation of the Pontotoc Ridge and the Ripley Formation, which includes highly resistant sandstone
Cuesta. interbedded with the characteristic claystone of the
The Flatwoods district is a level belt, as much as 10 formation, forms one of the most rugged districts of
miles wide, which extends from Alabama through the Coastal Plain.
Mississippi into southern Tennessee. The district is The North Central Plateau is bordered on the south
mostly forested, because the clay soils, derived from the by the Jackson Prairie, underlain by the clays of the
underlying Porters Creek Clay, generally are not Jackson Group, and characterized by gently rolling
suitable for crops. The Porters Creek Clay thins topography. A small area south of the Jackson Prairie
northward, and as a result the Flatwoods belt narrows is in the Southern Pine Hills.
in northern Mississippi and becomes indistinct in A distinctly different physiographic feature, the
southern Tennessee. Loess Hills (Bluff Hills), forms the western border of
 GENERAL GEOLOGY OF THE MISSISSIPPI EMBAYMENT
the uplands of the East Gulf Coastal Plain of Fenneman
(1938). The Loess Hills superimposed on the North
Central Plateau, the Jackson Prairie, and the Southern
Pine Hills are the result of the unique erosional
characteristics of loess. The loess, when eroded, forms
vertical walls which overlie the steep slopes scoured by
the Mississippi River along the eastern side of the
alluvial plain. The resulting scarp, extending from
Mississippi to Kentucky, is one of the most notable
physiographic features of the Coastal Plain.
The physiographic districts on the western side of the
embayment are the Lockesburg Wold, Saratoga Wold,
Sulphur Wold, Black Prairie, and East Texas Timber
Belt.
Fenneman (1938, fig. 28) shows the physiographic
divisions for northeastern Texas on a section of the
West Gulf Coastal Plain near the course of the Trinity
River. These divisions are based on the type of
underlying rock. Fenneman (1938, p. 103) states that
the Grand Prairie covers all Lower Cretaceous rocks except the of the Mississippi River from Memphis, Tenn., to
basal (Trinity) sands which underlie the narrow belt of Western Vicksburg, Miss.; and the Tensas Basin is in the part
Cross Timbers. The Black Prairie covers the Upper Cretaceous of the alluvial plain west of the Mississippi River and
with a like exclusion of basal (Woodbine) sands bearing the East- south of the Arkansas River.
ern Cross Timbers, while the East Texas Timber belt is on the
Tertiary.
The Western Cross Timbers, the Grand Prairie, and
the Eastern Cross Timbers narrow northeastward and
converge in southwestern Arkansas to form the Lockes-
burg Wold of Veatch (1906, p. 15). Dane (1929, p. 28)
indicates that the Lockesburg Wold, or cuesta, actually
includes two cuestas. One is formed on the basal
gravel of the Woodbine Formation and the other on the
basal gravel of the Tokio Formation.
South of the Lockesburg Wold is the Saratoga Wold
(cuesta) of Veatch (1906, p. 15). The Saratoga Wold
is a topographic ridge underlain by the Nacatoch Sand.
Farther south is the Sulphur Wold of Veatch (1906,
p. 15). It is a dissected topographic ridge underlain
by sandy units of the Wilcox Group in Arkansas.
The Black Prairie of northeastern Texas is underlain
by Upper Cretaceous rocks and is similar to the Black
Belt of the East Gulf Coastal Plain. This district
apparently terminates at the alluvial valley of the Red
River in northeastern Texas. It has not been extended
into Arkansas.
South of the Black Prairie belt is the East Texas
Timber Belt, which is underlain by Tertiary units. It
extends through northeastern Texas into northern
Louisiana and southwestern Arkansas.
The Mississippi Alluvial Plain is the result of aggra-
dation by the Mississippi River and its tributaries.
During the last stages of the evolution of the Mississippi
embayment, the Mississippi River cut a deep valley
B25
into the underlying rocks, mostly of Eocene age, at a
time when the sea level was probably relatively much
lower than it is at present. The general rise in sea
level was accompanied by aggradation of the valley
which, after a complex history (described in detail by
Fisk, 1944) gradually assumed its present form. The
alluvial plain is as much as 100 miles wide and about
400 miles long in the Mississippi embayment. It is
flat and slopes almost imperceptibly gulfward. Various
physiographic features, such as natural levees, oxbow
lakes, abandoned meanders, and alluvial fans, occur in
the plain. An outstanding feature is Crowleys Ridge,
the remnant of an old divide extending from southeast-
ern Missouri to east-central Arkansas (fig. 10).
The Mississippi Alluvial Plain is divided into several
basins, three of which are within the Mississippi em-
bayment. The St. Francis Basin extends from the
apex of the embayment to the Arkansas River; the
Yazoo Basin occupies the part of the alluvial plain east
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U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1968 O - 298-803